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Schools compelling students to buy unauthorised books to face ₹5L fine: UP Board
UP Board warns schools of fines up to ₹5 lakh for forcing overpriced books. Only authorized textbooks allowed; strict action against piracy.
Any school affiliated with the Uttar Pradesh Madhyamik Shiksha Parishad (UP Board) that compels students to purchase overpriced or unauthorised textbooks, guidebooks or supplementary study material will face a penalty of up to ₹5 lakh, warned UP Board secretary Bhagwati Singh.
He clarified that only textbooks published by authorised publishers are permitted for teaching in UP Board–affiliated schools. Besides financial penalties, erring institutions may also face suspension of recognition for a specified period, cancellation of affiliation or other disciplinary action.
Singh noted that since the UP Board holds the copyright of its textbooks published with due changes and permission of National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), the Board will take strict action against piracy and duplication.
If any unauthorised printer is found printing or selling UP Board textbooks, or if a bookseller is caught selling counterfeit or overpriced books, a joint investigation will be conducted involving the police, district administration, commercial tax and income tax departments, he said.
Violation of copyright provisions may attract imprisonment ranging from six months to three years, along with a fine between ₹50,000 and ₹2 lakh, Singh added.
The Board has also directed authorised publishers to ensure the timely availability of textbooks through wholesale and retail booksellers in all 75 districts of the state. Failure to supply books on time will invite strict action against the publishers concerned.
Board officials said that for the academic session 2026–27, all 70 NCERT syllabus-based textbooks covering 36 subjects for Classes 9 to 12 published under the UP Board, along with 12 textbooks of Hindi, Sanskrit and Urdu, will be available for sale across all districts by the first week of February.
For the current academic session, the Board has entrusted Pioneer Printers and Publishers, Agra, with printing textbooks for Classes 9 and 12; Pitambara Books, Bijouli (Jhansi), with Class 10 textbooks; and Singhal Agencies, Lucknow, with textbooks for Class 11, officials added.
