No end to complaints against private schools

Srinagar, Dec 20: There seems to be no end to the miseries of the parents as the private schools again resort to illegal profiteering by prescribing textbooks from private publishers in violation of the standing orders of the government.

Complaints are pouring in from various places against different private schools for resorting to “illegal profiteering” as the private schools affiliated with J&K Board of School Education (BOSE) are forcing the parents to purchase additional textbooks from specific bookshops.

Besides this, some of the CBSE-affiliated private schools are prescribing textbooks from private publishers sold at exorbitant rates.

“The CBSE schools recommend specific bookstores to purchase the textbooks. One set of textbooks for a kindergarten kid costs over Rs 4000. We do not understand why these books are kept available with specific bookstores,” said Mushtaq Ahmad Sofi, a parent from Srinagar whose kid is enrolled in a CBSE-affiliated school.

Another group of parents complained that some BOSE-affiliated schools, in violation of government orders, were prescribing additional textbooks from private publishers.

The parents said the additional textbooks, which are not part of the curriculum, are sold at exorbitant rates by the booksellers and have doubled the burden on the parents.

The parents said that the schools were hand-in-glove with private publishers and earned commissions from these textbooks.

“The schools earn around 40 to 45 percent commission of the actual price tag fixed on the textbooks of private publishers. It is a big nexus between the schools and the private publishers. The government should intervene in the matter,” another parent said.

The parents said that the schools were making a mockery of the government orders.

The BOSE in the last academic session made it mandatory for all private schools to adopt BOSE-prescribed textbooks for all classes from primary to class 12th.

The orders were issued by BOSE using its powers vested under the Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education Act, 1975.

“Under the act, BOSE holds the authority to prescribe courses of instruction, curricula, syllabi, and textbooks for various academic levels, including pre-primary, elementary, secondary, and higher secondary school examinations,” the circular reads.

According to the parents, the circular instructions issued by the BOSE last year witnessed poor implementation on the ground.

Earlier, the BOSE instructed all the district and tehsil-level officials to rigorously monitor and ensure the implementation of BOSE-prescribed textbooks in private academic institutions within their jurisdictions for the academic session 2024-25.

It was ordered that any non-compliance by any school might lead to penal action against such defaulting institutions.

The parents have demanded strict action against the private schools which resort to illegal profiteering and fleece the parents.

Minister for Education Sakina Masood earlier urged the parents that highlighting complaints against private schools with media would not invite any action from the department.

“We have already set rules and norms for the private schools. Unless the parent files a formal complaint with the department along with evidence against the private schools, no action will be taken. I request that parents file complaints with the department. No one is above the law,” she said.