KOCHI: Pirated copies of Class X NCERT textbooks, particularly of English, are being sold in the market at a time when the special classes for the new academic year have begun, costing the Council a huge sum and putting approved vendors under pressure.
Bookstores, especially in Kochi, were found selling the NCERT textbooks even though the Council-approved vendors are yet to dispatch them from Bengaluru.
“The textbooks were revised this year. There was a shortage, especially of English textbooks, but these bookstores are selling them. The question is how did they manage to get them,” asked an NCERT-approved bookseller in Kochi.
A couple of days ago the Delhi police had seized a large quantity of NCERT textbooks’ pirated copies from the Ghazipur area.
The approved vendors in Kerala allege the NCERT-contracted press has a role in publishing and releasing pirated textbooks in the state. “The bookstores get 20 per cent more commission when they sell pirated books,” said another NCERT-approved vendor.
They have received the information the textbooks will be distributed between Monday and Wednesday. The books are supplied to the vendors in Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Lakshadweep from the regional production-cum-distribution centre in Bengaluru.
“We are not aware of such a situation. Due to an increase in demand because of textbook revisions, the supply of English textbooks was delayed. If reported, action will be taken without delay,” said NCERT Bengaluru centre manager Diwan. Of the nearly 900 NCERT-approved vendors in the country, 51 are in the Kerala-Lakshadweep region.
Short takes
The bookstores allegedly get 20 per cent more commission when they sell pirated texts
Approved vendors in Kerala say the NCERT-contracted press has a role
Of the nearly 900 NCERT-approved vendors in the country, 51 are in the Kerala-Lakshadweep region