The Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights has instructed Baldwin schools to let students without textbooks to attend classes and make sure the books are available in the open market.
The panel's order comes after complaints from the parents that the school had demanded exorbitant fees for textbooks available with just one vendor.
In its order issued on Tuesday, the panel also asked the school not to change its uniform each year and force parents to spend more on clothes. It also said that parents should be given a choice to buy uniforms from a place of their choice. Students should be allowed to wear uniforms without the logos bought earlier, the commission ordered.
The parents also expressed concern that the school is not conducting the parent-teacher meetings regularly. To this, the commission asked the school to call for the PTA meetings in two weeks' time and constitute a parents-teachers association soon.
Responding to the parents' complaint that the school was forcing students to carry a heavy book load, which might put them at the risk of back injuries, commission chairperson Kripa Alva sought to consult an expert committee of doctors to assess the possible damage it would cause. The commission directed the school to set a time table so that children need not carry all their books daily.