Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): A draft has been prepared by the District Education Officer to stop the monopoly of private schools for 2025-2026 academic session. It is awaiting collector’s approval. According to draft, private schools will have to upload a list of textbooks on the portal and a hard copy will have to be sent to DEO’s office, which will display it on the notice board. The draft has several guidelines, including that textbooks should not be changed every year though minimal changes may be allowed. Additionally, books and uniforms should be available for sale in all bookstores, not restricted to a single vendor. Furthermore, the name or logo of the school should not appear on the books or uniforms.
Every year, the department issues an order to end the monopoly of private school operators, book publishers, and sellers, but some schools enforce exclusive purchase arrangements, causing frustration among parents seeking affordable alternatives. According to Bhopal District Education Officer NK Ahirwar, school managements cannot force parents to buy books from specific stores. Legal action will be taken against those who violate this rule. “We have prepared a draft and new guidelines for private schools, which will be issued after collector’s approval,” he added.
Act & rules
To curb rising price of books, the state government has earlier implemented Madhya Pradesh Private School (Fee and Related Matters Regulation) Act, 2017, and Rules 2020 to address the issue of unnecessary hikes by private schools annually. Despite yearly directives from the department, compliance remains low, with only a fraction of schools adhering to directives.
In April, a raid was conducted at Books and Books and Sneha Book Center in MP Nagar, where uniforms and textbooks of various schools were being sold.
