ANJALI YADAV/Dehradun
A large number of parents across Dehradun city complain that the start of the new academic session has brought increased financial pressure, with higher school fees, rising costs of books and notebooks adding to already rising expenses. The common refrain is that the education costs have gone up this year compared with previous sessions. They also raised concerns about being forced into purchasing study material from specific shops approved by schools.
Bajrang Singh, whose child studies at one of the premier schools of the city, said that the admission fees, annual charges and book costs have all surged up this year. “Last year we spent around Rs 5,000 on books. This time it has gone close to Rs 7,000,” he said.
“The school has asked us to buy materials from fixed vendors. They aren’t even sharing the book list so the parents can at least try buying it from other vendors. We don’t have much choice if we want to keep our child in the same school,” he said, adding that many instructions are shared verbally instead of through written circulars.
Another parent Sudarshan Chettri echoed Singh and said that they are bearing the extra burden of fees and other expenses from the kindergarten level. “The rise is visible across all classes, even LKG and UKG. Overall expenses have increased a lot. Parents are being asked to buy school-printed notebooks from specific shops, which are expensive,” she said.
Another parent Akash Prajapati said that some families tried to look for cheaper options but faced difficulty. “We checked other shops where the same books were available at lower prices, but we were discouraged from buying them,” he said.
Prajapati said that the schools, over the years, have added many unwanted charges that do not make sense. “But I can’t do anything because the government schools aren’t good enough to send my kids to,” he grumbled.
The Pioneer checked the rate list at two different shops in the city. As per the 2026–27 price list shared, book sets for middle and senior classes range between Rs 5,400 and Rs 7,000, while costs for Class XII science stream students are around Rs 7,500.
Notebook costs range from Rs 471 for LKG and Rs 478 for UKG to about Rs 1,403 for Class 9 and above.
Asked for comment, the president of National Association for Parents and Students Rights, Arif Khan said that many families have approached the administration regarding the issue. “Book prices have increased by about 25 to 40 per cent and school fees by around 30 to 35 per cent this year. Parents are also being forced into purchasing materials from certain vendors,” he said.
He added that the association plans to submit a memorandum to the Dehradun district magistrate and the chief education officer regarding the issue.
