India, April 15 -- New Delhi

As the 2026-27 academic session begins, parents across CBSE-affiliated private schools have been raising concerns over the cost of textbooks for Classes 1 to 8, alleging that they are being compelled to buy expensive book sets from private publishers, often through authorised vendors and changed annually.

While a NCERT set for Classes 1 to 8 costs around Rs.200- Rs.700 depending on the class, private publisher bundles for the same levels can range between Rs.3,000 and Rs.10,000, often including workbooks, supplementary readers and stationery.

This comes amid a regulatory gap as the CBSE mandates textbooks prescribed by the NCERT for Classes 9 to 12, it "strongly" advises their use in Classes 1 to 8.

Though...