Hours after The Pioneer published a report on the continuing nexus between school managements and booksellers in the city, Bhopal Collector Kaushalendra Vikram Singh on Tuesday constituted eight teams to investigate the matter.
As per norms, it is mandatory for school managements to publicise the names of books included in the syllabus for each class on their official websites.
The guidelines also prohibit schools from coercing parents into buying books and uniforms from specific outlets.
Contraventions, however, are common, as school managements are often accused of including overpriced books from little-known publishers in the syllabus and pressuring parents to purchase them from pre-identified sellers.
The quality of material included in these textbooks is also suspect, and often results in controversy due to misrepresentation of facts or content that is inflammatory or discriminatory.
The Collector invoked 2024 orders of the Madhya Pradesh School Education Department to constitute the teams, which are headed by Sub Divisional Magistrates (SDMs).
Apart from government officials, several government school principals have also been included in the teams, which will provide daily reports of their actions.
The teams are authorised to conduct surprise inspections under the provisions of the Private Schools Act 2017 and Rules 2020.
The inspections will verify ISBN numbers of textbooks, review school fee structures for the academic years 2023–2026, and ensure compliance with regulatory standards.
