Nagpur: The Nagpur district education office on Monday evening directed all secondary and higher secondary schools across all boards and mediums in the district to use only NCERT or SCERT textbooks, citing complaints from parents about overpriced private publishers books being used. The local education office warned that schools found compelling students to buy books from specific private publishers would face action, including cancellation of their NOC.
But the order drew a sharp response from school associations, which called it an overreach. Unaided Schools Forum (USF), a pan-Maharashtra association which represents many of the top tier schools, said the letter by Nagpur’s education officer was not based on facts.
SC Kedia, honorary secretary of USF, said, “Let’s get the basics right regarding this issue. There is no ban in India on using books of private publishers. The rule is that schools have to use books that are aligned with the curriculum that the govt has approved,” Kedia said.
USF questioned the authority of the education department to issue such directions. “If you look at all education boards, they are basically exam-conducting bodies. Even CBSE cannot force schools to use specific books because their primary task is to conduct board exams for Class 10 and 12 and issue a certificate for that,” he said.
The letter issued by education officer (secondary) cited a govt order dated June 11, 2004, and a joint circular of the director of education dated April 18, directing that no school should compel students to purchase uniforms or educational materials from specific shops.
The letter noted that despite the standing order, complaints were being received that school managements and principals were forcing students to use books of specific private publishers without listing them in the official book list.
A few school principals claimed that NCERT’s supply chain is also not very reliable. “The latest incident was the overhaul of Class 9 curriculum this academic year. Schools struggled as academic session had started in April, before the May break, and we had no textbooks. Then were were given digital versions later to teach students,” a principal said.
