Punjab Education Minister Vijay Inder Singla Saturday directed all private schools in the state to not coerce parents to buy books and uniforms from particular shops. The sale of uniforms and books within school premises has also been prohibited.
The directives, meant for all private schools affiliated to the CBSE, ICSE and the Punjab School Education Board, came after taking note of reports suggesting exploitation of parents of school children by certain private schools.
The minister also directed that the uniform once introduced in schools should be carried on for at least three years and no change in the colour and design of the dress be introduced in that period.
"The details pertaining to design, colour, texture, material etc. should be uploaded on the school website so that parents may buy ready-made uniform or get them tailor made as per their choice and resources," Mr Singla said in an official release.
It has also been made mandatory for school authorities to use approved books based on the board syllabi and upload the list of those books on the school website, leaving the choice of buying books solely to the discretion of students or parents.
It has been observed that certain schools recommend books of private publishers who in connivance with school management change the chronology of chapters of last year's books, irrespective of the fact that board made no changes in the syllabi, the minister said.
"This is being done in order to befool parents and children so that they may not use second-hand books and spend again on new books. So, the malpractice needs to be checked and the parents or students may not be compelled to buy new books," he said.
The no objection certificate of the schools, which fail to comply with these directions, would be cancelled, Mr Singla said.