Commercialisation of books: Chandigarh Education department inspects 10 private schools

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“We had received several complaints from parents regarding commercialisation in terms of sale of books, uniforms and stationery. The education department had earlier issued show-cause notices to these schools against the complaints made. After having received responses from them, we wanted to conduct a first-hand inspection,” said director, school education (DSE) Rubinderjit Singh Brar. He added that the education department was likely to conduct more such inspections next week after consulting with the joint committee formed with the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE).

With students of several classes in city government schools still waiting for their NCERT prescribed books, the education department is also planning to obtain copyrights for production and sale of NCERT books in the city, in order to deal with the shortage of books, officials from the Education Department added.

On Wednesday, members of the Chandigarh Parents Association had also met with DSE Brar over the lack of action against the erring schools. “According to the Punjab Education Code which is applicable to Chandigarh, only books approved by the DSE can be prescribed in schools in Chandigarh. The DSE can independently direct the schools to use only NCERT books,” said Nitin Goyal, President of the Chandigarh Parents Association.

However, heads of private schools in the city are irked by the interference of the UT education department. President of Independent Association of Schools said HS Mamik told the Chandigarh Newsline, “When parents get their students admitted into private schools, they take a conscious decision, knowing that the education here will be different from the kind of education their wards would have received in government schools. The education department does not have a right to tell what is good for the children, because we take these decisions responsibly. Creation of all these obstacles in the way we impart education only seems like an attempt to bring down the efficiency of private schools.”

“We had issued circulars to parents in January, giving them options for purchase of books. The list of books was made available to them, and parents were free to either buy the books on their own or take the help of the school in facilitating the purchase. The prescribed books are sold on the MRP and there is no commercialisation being done,” added Mamik.

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