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The booklist arrives with a note: collect the full set, uniform included, from the school counter. The bill is high, and the same NCERT books are in the shop down the road. Before you pay, it helps to know that the rules are mostly on your side, and that a calm, written request often works better than an argument at the gate.
Can a school force you to buy books and uniform from its own shop?
For CBSE schools, no. In circular CBSE/AFF/Circular/10/2017, dated 19 April 2017, the board directed its affiliated schools “to desist from the unhealthy practice of coercing parents to buy text books, note books, stationary, uniforms, shoes, school bags etc from within the premise or from selected vendors only.”
The same circular cites Rule 19.1 (ii) of the CBSE Affiliation Bye-Laws, which requires a school to be run “as a community service and not as a business”. It also reminds schools of an earlier circular, Acad/13/2016, on using NCERT and CBSE textbooks, and notes complaints about schools pressuring families to buy other textbooks.
So a school may run a shop on campus, but it cannot make that shop your only option. And for prescribed NCERT books, you have a free fallback: NCERT puts its textbooks for Classes 1 to 12 online as PDFs.
What do state rules say?
States and union territories set their own rules for the schools they recognise, so check your state's education department as well. Delhi's order is a detailed example.
A Delhi Directorate of Education order dated 24 March 2025 tells private unaided recognised schools that they:
must not compel students or parents to buy books, uniforms or other materials from a specific vendor, shop or organisation
must display the class-wise booklist and uniform specifications well in advance, on the school website and at a conspicuous place in the school
must display the names, addresses and phone numbers of at least five nearby vendors, while parents remain free to buy the same items anywhere else
must not change the colour, design or other specifications of the uniform for at least three years once prescribed
The order names a nodal officer in the Private School Branch for complaints and warns of action under Section 24 of the Delhi School Education Act and Rules, 1973. In April 2026, Business Today reported that the Delhi government had issued a fresh direction along the same lines.
If your school follows ICSE or a state board, ask the school which rule it relies on, and look for your own state's order before you push back.
What should you do before paying?
Get the list in writing. Ask for the class-wise booklist with title, publisher and edition, plus the uniform specification: colour, fabric, pattern and badge.
Price it outside. Check two or three local shops, or a second-hand set from a senior's family. Note what is truly unique to the school, such as a crest or a logo tie.
Ask, in writing. Send one polite message to the class teacher or office (script below). Keep a copy.
Escalate if needed. Go to the principal, then the school management or parent body, then your district education office. For CBSE schools, you can quote the 2017 circular. The government's CPGRAMS portal also lets citizens lodge grievances with public authorities.
What can you say to the school?
You can adapt this message:
“Dear Sir/Ma'am, thank you for sharing the booklist for Class 7. We would like to buy the books and uniform from a shop near our home. Could you please share the publisher and edition of each book and the uniform specification? If the badge is available only from the school, we are happy to buy it separately. We understand from CBSE circular 10/2017 that schools should not require parents to buy these items only from the school or from selected vendors. Thank you.”
This message asks for information rather than accusing anyone, which makes a yes easy. If several parents in the class send the same request, it can carry more weight than one complaint.
What about extra guidebooks and practice sets?
The Delhi order also says schools must not pressure families to buy study material beyond the prescribed curriculum. Before buying a stack of extras, read our guide on how many reference books a Class 9 child needs. If your child wants more practice than the textbook gives, the Fermi Problem Library has worked problems with a step-by-step solver that explains the reasoning rather than printing an answer.
Fewer books also lighten the bag; see how to reduce a heavy school bag. For storybooks and other books outside the syllabus, building a home library on a budget covers second-hand and library options.
Start with the written request this week, before the shop counter opens for the new session.
