Some booksellers are also named in the FIR.

Jabalpur collector Deepak Saxena has ordered these schools to refund all the fees collected in violation of regulations.

If schools don't return the money to parents within 30 days, the administration will initiate attachment proceedings, he warned, adding that the 11 schools have been fined Rs 2 lakh each.

 At least 51 people - including school board members, principals and administrators - have been named in 11 FIRs in nine police station.

Twenty of them have been arrested, SP Aditya Pratap Singh said.

This is the first time that such action has been taken against schools in Madhya Pradesh. Jabalpur collector Deepak Saxena called it a "scam" and said that schools have collected over Rs 100 crore through unauthorised hikes in fees.

"There are 1,037 private schools in the district. If all these schools are investigated thoroughly, without bias, the estimated value of this scam would be around Rs 240 crore," Saxena said at a press meet on Monday.

Schools added books with fake ISBN numbers: Probe

The investigation began on April 1, 2024. The administration inspected 11 schools to begin with and found that fees were raised without adhering to Section 5/2 of School Fee Regulatory Act, and audit reports were not uploaded, said the collector. For any annual fee hike above 10%, a school needs to get the collector's approval. And for hikes of 15% and above, the state-level committee's nod is a must.
 

Also, schools must notify the district committee if fee hike exceeds 5%. None of this was done by these 11 schools, said the collector.

"Investigation revealed that private schools have committed fraud amounting to Rs 81.3 crore," said Saxena. Also, these schools would change the curriculum annually without seeking approval from an expert committee, he added.

“Fake and duplicate ISBN books were added to the syllabus.”
The changes in curriculum ranged from 60% to 100%. The school management would inform publishers and sellers beforehand so that orders could be placed and supplies arranged," said Saxena. At the last moment, school management would upload information regarding changes in curriculum. Those who were unable to find specific book in the open market had to buy it from designated shops. The MRP was often twice as high, he said.

The administration estimates that the book coercion added an additional financial burden of Rs 4 crore on parents. What's more, schools would add extra books to the curriculum, ending up doubling the weight of a child's school bag, he said. The probe uncovered instances of schools manipulating audit reports, the collector said, indicating diversion of funds. SP Aditya Pratap Singh said each accused is named in multiple FIRs. They include 30 from school management, 16 publishers and five booksellers.TNN