Ahmedabad: Four private schools in Ahmedabad have been fined by the District Education Officer (DEO) after complaints by parents alleging pressure to buy school supplies from designated shops.
These include school uniforms, books, bags and stationary items. The parents alleged that these schools compelled parents and students to buy specific books by private publishers instead of the prescribed NCERT or GCERT textbooks.
The schools fined include Suffah School in Kalupur, Muktajeevan English School and Nelson Primary School in Maninagar, and United Valley School in Vastral.
The schools had received notices about the complaints, and the DEO imposed penalties ranging from Rs . 10,000 to Rs . 25,000 as their explanations were deemed unsatisfactory.
Regulations by the education department has rules that restrict schools from forcing students and parents to purchase educational materials from particular vendors beyond those mandated by government bodies.
Even after this, some sources alleged that one school continued to pressure parents to buy privately published books, even as government policies direct schools to adhere strictly to NCERT and GCERT textbooks.
