CBSE cautions affiliated schools against "coercing" parents

CBSE today cautioned affiliated schools against indulging in "educationally unsound" and "unhealthy practice" by pressuring children and "coercing" parents into buying additional books and use of material other than NCERT.
In a communication to all school heads, it said "Parents should not be coerced to buy additional textbooks by the school authorities".
Taking on several such schools following complaints, CBSE said it was "unfortunate" that they are exerting pressure on children and their parents to buy an excessive number of textbooks predominantly published by publishers other than NCERT.
"It has come to our attention that schools are compelling children to purchase and use books of publishers other than NCERT which are costly, voluminous, and unscientifically designed.

"This practice of the schools is jeopardizing the proper teaching learning activities of the schools and imposing pressure on students," it said.
This is a matter of grave concern and the CBSE would like to reiterate its stand in unequivocal terms that prescribing too many textbooks and coercing parents and children to buy them is an unhealthy practice that is educationally unsound, it said.

In this regard, it remained of the recommendations of a Professor Yashpal committee report which had made several recommendations to reduce the curricular burden and stress on children in its report entitled 'Learning Without Burden'.
The National Curriculum Framework, 2005 has called for several curricular and systemic reforms to make children's life at school enjoyable.

One of these reforms pertains to reduction in the number of textbooks for different classes, it said.
As per rule, all the schools affiliated to CBSE follow syllabi prescribed by the NCERT up to class VIII and the syllabi prescribed by the CBSE from Class IX to XII.