A PIL in Delhi High Court alleges private schools are forcing parents to buy costly books, excluding EWS students. Court seeks replies from GNCTD, CBSE, and NCERT on the issue of education commercialisation.
New Delhi: On August 27, the Delhi High Court has issued notices to the Government of NCT of Delhi (GNCTD), the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), and the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) after a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed challenging the alleged commercialisation of school education and the exclusion of children from Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) in private schools.
The matter came up before a division bench consisting of Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela, who directed all the respondents to file their replies.
The PIL has been filed by Jasmit Singh Sahni, Director of Doon School, through Advocate Satyam Singh Rajput.
During the hearing, Advocate Amit Prasad, appearing for the petitioner, argued that private schools were forcing parents to buy costly books and extra study materials from private publishers, which was affecting poor families and students admitted under the EWS category.
According to the petition, this practice violates the Right to Education (RTE) Act, especially Section 12(1)(c), which requires private schools to keep 25% seats reserved for disadvantaged children.
The petitioner explained that parents of EWS children are asked to purchase books worth Rs 10,000–Rs 12,000 every year, while the Delhi government provides only Rs 5,000 as reimbursement. This big gap often makes families withdraw their children from school, leading to systematic exclusion.
The PIL also raised the issue of private schools not following CBSE rules. CBSE had issued circulars in 2016 and 2017 directing schools to only use NCERT textbooks.
However, many schools continue to prescribe books from private publishers. While NCERT books cost about Rs 700 per year, books from private publishers can cost more than Rs 10,000. This is also against CBSE Affiliation Bye-laws, which clearly prohibit commercialisation of education.
The petition further highlighted health concerns regarding heavy school bags. As per the School Bag Policy, 2020, the weight of a school bag should not exceed 10% of a child’s body weight.
But in reality, children are carrying bags weighing 6–8 kilograms, which can cause long-term musculoskeletal problems and psychological stress.
The petitioner used information obtained through RTI applications filed between April and May 2024, which revealed that NCERT has no system to check if schools are actually following the textbook guidelines, and CBSE also has no statutory powers or penalties to enforce compliance.
This lack of monitoring allows schools to keep prescribing costly private publisher books without any restrictions.
To solve this issue, the PIL has proposed introducing a statutory “Fixed Rate- Fixed Weight System” for regulating private books when NCERT books are not available.
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According to the petitioner, this system would fix book prices on the basis of page count, quality of paper (GSM), and syllabus compliance, while also ensuring that school bag weight remains within the prescribed limit.
Such a transparent system, the petitioner argued, would prevent monopolistic practices of private publishers and give relief to parents.
The PIL requests the court to direct authorities to fully enforce Section 12(1)(c) of the RTE Act, make the use of NCERT books compulsory in CBSE-affiliated schools, regulate prices of private publisher books only when NCERT versions are unavailable, and give binding force to the School Bag Policy.
It also demands disciplinary action against schools violating the rules and the creation of statutory regulations with penalties to stop the commercialisation of education.
The petitioner strongly emphasised that,
“Education is a fundamental right, not a commercial enterprise. The current system has created a parallel economy worth over Rs 55,000 crore annually, built on the exploitation of parents and the exclusion of disadvantaged children. This PIL seeks to restore the constitutional promise of free and equitable education.”
The petition also referred to an important judgment of the Madras High Court in M. Purushottam v. Union of India, where the court had observed that prescribing non-NCERT books puts an unnecessary financial burden on parents and shows disregard for CBSE rules.
With this PIL, the petitioner has urged the Delhi High Court to step in and protect the rights of students, particularly from weaker economic backgrounds, and to ensure that education remains affordable, fair, and truly inclusive.
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