Express Message Service
BENGALURU: The Euro School, Chimney Hills, Bengaluru was recently reported and received a notice from CBSE for using coercive strategies to get parents to buy textbooks and uniforms from certain vendors and for not following CBSE guidelines to stop such practices. The city’s parents’ association expressed concerns that the problem was widespread in many schools, where they engaged in such deals to make more money. They said that NECRT books are often reprinted with changed prices and names, or split in two, and parents are asked to buy those very books.
Mohamed Shakeel, president of the Voice of Parents Association, Karnataka, said many schools are grossly violating the law, using the tactic of reprinting books with altered prices, dividing books in two, doubling the cost, or selling the books over certain providers ensures.
He explained that states were free to easily adapt the NCERT books to suit state needs, but schools misused them and ended up printing their own books under a private publisher and calling them their own curriculum. For example, Euroschools or Orchid International School would have developed their own textbooks, which they call their internal curricula, like Cerebrum or Eduvate.
After failed efforts to reach Orchids International School authorities, Ajay Merchant, a parent, finally wrote to CBSE in December 2021, alerting them that the school was not using CBSE-mandated NCERT textbooks and was involved in the printing and publication of their own curriculum . They further added that school officials insisted that parents buy uniforms, textbooks, shoes and other necessities from a specific brand and vendor at a higher cost.
In retrospect to the dismissal complaint against the Euro School, CBSE has ordered the school to comply with the Board’s orders and to comply with all standards. It should also be ensured that parents can buy books/notebooks in open markets and not only from certain suppliers. They were also asked to ensure compliance and provide an “action report” within seven days of the letter being issued.
Ajay also mentioned that the textbooks published by the school would cost them 7,000 to 9,000 annually, compared to 2,000 to 3,000 for NCERT books, giving the schools a significant profit margin. He also pointed out that the CBSE and the state education authorities lacked communication and did not know whose jurisdiction the matter would fall.
