In a classic case of too little, too late, Bhopal Collector Kaushalendra Vikram Singh has constituted eight teams to stop school owners from earning crores in “off-the-books” profits through commissions from booksellers and uniform suppliers. Only, the orders came at the fag end of the annual book-buying season.
The orders, issued on Tuesday, followed the reopening of most private schools in the city for the new academic session. By this time, most parents had already purchased books and uniforms—many of which carried inflated printed prices, the result of a racket involving schools and select vendors.
Parents say that while the move is welcome in principle, its timing renders it largely symbolic. “We’ve already paid for everything. This feels more like a tick-box exercise than a real intervention,” said one parent.
Under existing regulations, schools are required to publish their complete booklists on their websites before the session begins. These lists are meant to be vetted by the district-level school education department to ensure the books are reasonably priced, culturally appropriate, and not needlessly duplicated. But these norms are rarely enforced.
In practice, many schools prescribe books from boutique or lesser-known publishers whose printed prices are far higher than necessary. These titles are often not available in open markets, forcing parents to buy them from specific vendors selected by the school. The more inflated the prices, the larger the cut for school authorities.
“My kids are in Classes 2 and 5 in a well-known school,” said a parent who requested anonymity. “This year, the elder one has two NCERT books. They cost me just Rs 90. But the rest of the books, all from private publishers, came to Rs 4,500. That should tell you everything.”
Parents allege that school education officials in Bhopal have turned a blind eye to the practice, enabling an annual cycle of exploitation. While some schools include a few NCERT titles to feign compliance, these usually form a minor portion of the overall syllabus. Meanwhile, those who object risk backlash—from administrative cold-shouldering to thinly veiled threats about their child’s admission.
Such is the pressure that few parents are willing to speak publicly. “Even now, I’m scared to talk. I don’t want my child to suffer,” said another parent, who was forced to buy a book for over Rs 700 despite equivalent NCERT material being available at a fraction of the cost.
It is unclear what stopped the district administration from acting earlier. Some insiders point towards a mix of bureaucratic inertia and reluctance to confront powerful school lobbies. Others point to poor coordination between the school education department and the district machinery, with no one stepping in at the right time. Whatever the reason, the delayed response meant the damage was already done.
In comparison to the delayed action in Bhopal, Jabalpur Collector Deepak Saxena acted before the academic session began, issuing notices to private schools asking them to justify their choice of private publishers.
The collector also asked schools to explain—and publish on their websites—the criteria they employed to select books. The pressure worked, as most schools revised their lists to include NCERT books, bringing down costs for parents.
Saxena’s proactive, no-nonsense approach stands in stark contrast to Bhopal’s delayed response, effectively leaving parents to wait until next year before any of this translates into reduced book expenses or protection from coercive school practices.