India, June 29 -- If there is one place that can successfully make you buy what you may not need, it is your child's school. Selling uniforms and books is one thing, but many schools also force parents to buy shoes of chosen brands which could be procured elsewhere, not to mention stationery items ranging from fancy pens and novelty erasers to custom packages including the pen, the eraser and sundry other items.

Having crossed that stage of parenting years ago, I no longer have any reason to complain. So let us look at such a situation clinically, as puzzlers do. Many items and many children mean there are always interesting numbers on offer.

#Puzzle 201.1

A profit-minded school administrator is calculating and exacting. His school sel...