Schools say no profit on book sales, parents counter claim

Hyderabad: With hundreds of schools forced to shut down book stalls on the campus every year, the school managements on Friday asked the director of school education to ensure that officials do not seize books or seal book counters at least this year.‘No-profit, no-loss basis'In a representation to the education department, managements claim that they are allowed to set up book stalls on a no-profit, no-loss basis as per govt orders and high court directions. This, even as parents claim that books are being sold at exorbitant prices by most schools."Certain student and community organisations have recently been lodging complaints against some private schools, alleging that the sale of textbooks within school premises is not permissible. Based on such complaints, some field-level officials have directed schools to discontinue their book counters," read a representation from the Telangana Recognised School Management Association (TRSMA), which has about 10,000 private schools as its members.They said that every year they are forced to approach officials and get the counters reopened, wasting precious time for both parents and managements."According to the rules, we have to notify three book stalls. We can run bookstores at schools, for the convenience of parents, but cannot force them to buy only from us. We are not asking govt to turn a blind eye; if any management is violating norms, they can initiate action. But they shouldn't be asking us to close book shops on campus just because someone is complaining without knowing the rules," said S Madhusudhan Reddy, who is part of TRSMA and operates a school in Hyderabad.‘Forced to pay double'Parents, meanwhile, said that they are not against schools running book shops, but against looting parents. "Managements conveniently claim that they are not making buying books from schools mandatory. But, at the ground level, the situation is different. We are forced to pay almost double for notebooks when compared with the market price. The same goes for other material as well," said R Rajesh, whose daughter is studying at a private school in Ameerpet.Officials from the school education department said they only initiate action if managements violate norms.