Avneet Kaur
Tribune News Service
Jalandhar, April 5
Giving two hoots to the orders of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, private schools in the district continue to allegedly force parents into buying books and uniform from specific shops at inflated prices.
It’s for their convenience
Schools recommend specific shops or online stores for books only for the convenience of parents. They don’t have to approach several shops in search of books. Having said that, it is not mandatory to buy books from a particular shop. — Rachna Monga, Principal, Sanskriti KMV school
Left with no option as books and uniform are unavailable at shops other than the specified ones, parents are forced to follow the schools’ diktat.
They say school managements aren’t taking the Chief Minister’s orders seriously nor does the district administration is conducting inspections to stop the “loot” by private schools.
In his Facebook post, Varun Sharma, a parent, said: “There seems to be no end to the monopoly of private schools. Books are only available at shops recommended by schools. Besides, there’s no provision of buying one or two books as the designated vendor is only selling the complete set.”
Many parents shared their ordeal in the comment section. One of them said, “Schools are minting money. The complete set of books for Class I costs Rs 5,000 and it is only available at a shop designated by the school. Moreover, many schools have announced a change in the uniform, which too will be available at a particular shop.”
Malvika Khanna, the mother of a Class VII student, said: “Schools should hand over a list of books to parents and they should be free to purchase them from any shop. Besides, there should be an option of purchasing old books.”
Manu Jindal, a member of the district regulatory body for unaided institutions, said the parents should come forward and file complaints with the regulatory authorities so that action could be taken against schools.
Sanskriti KMV School principal Rachna Monga said, “Schools suggest specific shops or online stores for books only for the convenience of parents. They don’t have to approach several shops in search of books. Having said that, it is not mandatory to buy books from a particular shop.”
Days after order on schoolbooks, nothing changes
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