Wednesday, 06 March 2024 | PNS | DEHRADUN
The State Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR) will inspect the schools amidst allegations of parents being compelled to purchase costly textbooks for their children at the start of new sessions. Prior to the new academic session in schools, many schools in the city have reportedly made it compulsory for parents to purchase specific textbooks from particular bookshops instead of using the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) books, as directed earlier by the State government. Many parents are unhappy with the increasing book prices and schools mandating expensive textbooks from private publishers instead of the NCERT books.
Bookshop owner Rajeev Anand said that he has signed a contract with several schools in Dehradun to sell specific books to the students assigned by the schools for the new session. This makes it easier and more accessible for parents to buy books from the designated shops, instead of visiting different shops for different books. However, the books sold in these designated shops are priced higher due to the commission taken by the schools, he said.
Many parents in the city have complained that they are being forced to buy expensive books, which is causing financial difficulties for them.
“The State government had earlier directed schools not to force children to buy books other than NCERT. However, schools are ignoring this and forcing parents to buy expensive books,” the president of the National Association for Parents and Student Rights (NAPSR) Arif Khan said. He further emphasised that to combat such arbitrary actions of schools, the government should form a committee that includes officials from the police, Education department and other departments to monitor schools that compel their students to use expensive books.
SCPCR member Vinod Kaparwan informed this correspondent that during school inspections, the commission has found that some city schools have been following arbitrary practices such as directing the use of expensive books instead of NCERT books and burdening students with heavy school bags. He explained that by making students use expensive books, these schools are earning a commission which adversely affects the parents financially. He further added that the commission will be conducting inspections prior to the start of the new session in schools to ensure that students are not forced to buy expensive books other than NCERT.
