CHENNAI: S Natarajan, doesn’t know how much he actually paid for his daughter’s textbooks and notebooks for the coming academic year. “The school had charged a total amount of `20,000 this time. We were forced to buy books from the school. However, there was no clarity on the actual amount we paid for the books, since the amount wasn’t divulged. It was included along with the tuition fees,” lamented Natarajan, whose daughter studies in Class VII in a private school.
This was the view shared by a number of parents to whom City Express spoke to, except parents of students studying in government schools. “I had paid a total of `5000 for books and notebooks and `950 for school uniform. Had I bought the same goods from outside,it would have been `3,000,” rued another mother.
In the run up to reopening day, even CBSE schools have followed suit. B Manimaran, a parent said that there were instructions from the school’s side to get the notebooks and books provided by the school. “My son prefers a Ben Ten bag but his school provides a bag that he doesn’t like,” added a parent who has his daughter enrolled in a state board school.
This trend has not just left the parents exasperated. Shopkeepers say that their business has come down by over 80 per cent in the last few years. “We used to have good business from January to May just two years ago. Now, we have just one week of business in May,” said Nalla Mohammed, manager of New Jothis bag shop located on NSC Bose Road. An owner of a stationary shop, who did not want to be named, alleged that certain schools had tie ups with certain notebook companies, meaning schools were getting a discount but were selling the notebooks at the MRP. “Freebies given by government schools is another major reason,” he added.
Private schools said that their providing books ensures that students do not miss out on bringing them on reopening day. “The very idea why the books are given away at schools ahead of the reopening is because it sets uniformity. In fact, this is also done to ensure that parents and students do not have to spend their time travelling around,” said the founder of Shree Natesan Vidyasala N Ramasubramanyan. Senior Principal of Zion MHSS N Vijayan admitted that there were certain schools who were doing business. “That’s unethical. But the quality of books given at schools is much better than and sets uniformity. The students don’t have to struggle looking out for a book they might get in stores,” he explained.