Regulate prices of textbooks, uniforms in schools: Targami

Srinagar, Nov 13: Welcoming the government decision to regulate the prices of textbooks and uniforms in private schools, Communist Party of India (M) senior leader Mohammad Yousuf Targami said it needs to be implemented on the ground in letter and spirit.

Till now the Government has failed to put a control on the nexus between the private schools and publishers, who are fleecing parents by selling textbook and notebooks at exorbitant prices, Mr Targami the lone MLA of CPI(M) in the House said in a statement here on Tuesday afternoon.
The government’s failure has resulted in public outrage, he said.

The private schools, which included elite ones, reportedly charge commission of around 40 to 60 per cent on books being sold by them in the school premises or at the designated bookshops. A textbook of first standard whose cost could not be more than Rs 40-50 is being sold at Rs 250-300 with both publisher and school management sharing the undue profits, he alleged.

There is no uniformity as every private school has its own set of textbooks being prescribed to the wards which results in murky business of commission. This has been going on for years and it is a practice which is beneficial for both publishers and private schools. But the parents are bearing the brunt of this nexus which needs to be broken.

The Government must immediately issue instructions to private schools to stop this illegal profiteering by selling books at exorbitant rates. Special inspection teams need to be constituted who could visit the schools to check this practice. Strict action must be taken against those who resort to illegal profiteering by selling textbooks at exorbitant rates, he added.