UP Government Orders Action Against Costly Private Books in Schools After NHRC Intervention

UP has directed schools not to force parents to buy costly private books after NHRC raised concerns over alleged textbook sale practices violating the RTE Act.
on Jun 11, 2026

The Uttar Pradesh government has instructed the education department in the state to make sure that no school compels parents to buy books published by private publishers or from any vendor, after the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) intervened in this regard.

According to reports, the NHRC took cognizance of the complaints filed against certain CBSE-affiliated private schools in the state. Lawyer and children’s rights activist Anubha Shrivastava Sahai, who is the president of the India Wide Parents Association, lodged the complaints.

Based on the complaints, the NHRC asked the Ministry of Education of the Centre, as well as the UP government, to submit their action taken report within four weeks.

In the observations section, the NHRC mentioned that the 'book mafia' comprised of an alleged nexus between the school management, private publishers, and vendors, forcing parents to buy costly books that are not NCERT approved.

According to the NHRC, the above practices may also be considered a violation of Section 29 of the RTE Act, 2009.

After the intervention of the commission, an official directive was sent by the Additional Chief Secretary for Secondary Education of Uttar Pradesh to the Director of Secondary Education and other district education officials to stop schools from making parents buy books from private publishers or from a particular bookstore.

Action is required to be taken immediately whenever a complaint in this regard comes to light.

Details concerning the implementation of Section 29 of the RTE Act and conducting audit of the school booklists, along with adherence to the National School Bag Policy, 2020, are being sought by the NHRC.

It is stated by the state authorities that awareness campaigns and efforts to ensure textbook availability have already been undertaken within districts. The state authorities informed that the guidelines for not promoting or selling any private guide books or textbooks are available.

District administration has been asked to take immediate action against those institutions that are not following the textbook norms set.