Parents slam Edu Dept's ‘eyewash’ directive on private publisher books

The Directorate of School Education has directed District Education Officers across the state to ensure strict compliance with the Haryana School Education Rules and the Right to Education (RTE) Act regarding the sale and recommendation of school books and uniforms in private schools. However, the directive has sparked criticism from parents and parent associations, who allege that the move comes too late in the academic cycle to be of any real help.

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The parent bodies have termed the directive, issued after the academic session has already commenced, as nothing more than a "mere formality" and a "delayed eyewash." They point out that most parents have already bought expensive book sets prescribed by private schools.

According to information, the Directorate's letter flagged several unfair practices being followed by private schools. These include forcing parents to buy expensive books from private publishers instead of the NCERT or CBSE-approved textbooks, and recommending non-essential reference books that do not align with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 or the National Curriculum Framework. Other reported violations include frequent changes in school uniforms, imposition of carrying water bottles, and ignoring norms related to the weight of school bags.

Despite the department’s renewed emphasis, many parents remain unconvinced about its effectiveness.

A parent said, “A book set for Class 4 is being sold for as much as Rs 4,800. It’s a huge burden on middle-class families.”

Ajay Kumar Gupta, president of the Parents Welfare Association, Ambala Cantonment, said, “There is no benefit of issuing such letters a week after the beginning of the new session. Majority of the parents have already bought the books of private publishers prescribed by the school. A fictitious shortage of NCERT books is created so that the books of private publishers are sold. If the Education Department is serious about these issues, it should ensure availability of NCERT books and take strict action against the violators. The schools have their agreements with the publishers and refer to particular shops. The officials are well aware of such practices but take no action.”

Echoing similar concerns, Kulbhushan Sharma, president of the National Independent Schools Alliance, said, “The private schools need books at the very beginning of the academic session. The government in December or January should announce the sale of NCERT books through its depots if it wants to keep the books of private publishers out from the private schools. Besides this, the government should also control the rates of private publishers by fixing the rate per page in a book. Such actions can be taken by the government only. In case of frequent changes in the uniform, we are with the government, and it should initiate action against the schools changing the uniforms frequently.”

In response, District Elementary Education Officer (DEEO) Sudhir Kalra said, “Following the directions received, a letter has been sent to the block-level officials to ensure compliance of the Haryana Education Rules and RTE Act. We have also instructed the officials to hold surprise inspections in the schools and if any complaint is received, we will write to the directorate to take action against the private schools. Grievance redressing officers have been appointed in each block to address the complaints. The schools have also been asked to ban junk food in school canteens.”