School managements claim that these tailor shops and book stores are opened to make things more convenient for the parents. Their claims are brushed aside by parents, who claim that the schools are making a big profit through these ventures.

Uniforms, ties, belts, socks, books, notebooks and other stationery goods are sold by many schools within the premises. Parents are expected to buy in accordance with the things-you-must-buy list the school provides at the beginning of every session.

``Children are always punished if their notebooks don't have the school's name on the cover or if the shade of their uniform does not match the school's,'' says V.K. Batra, general secretary of the Delhi Abhibhavak Mahasangh. ``Teachers don't correct notebooks if they don't conform with the one sold in their school shop. At a number of schools, the inside of the shirt's collar is checked to ensure that it has been bought from the shop suggested by the school or the one in the school. Parents have no choice but to give in to these pressure tactics.''

``Moreover, every year the school decides to change a part of the uniform,'' says a parent activist. ``It is either the belt or the tie. In some cases, it is the colour of the trousers or the shirt. There is no option but to buy new ones.''

The school monogram is considered to be the biggest problem. Parents say that because the monogram is mandatory, the shirt has to be bought from the school.

``In our school, we give students the choice,'' says Meenu Goswami, principal of Apeejay School, Sheikh Sarai. ``Those who decide to buy uniforms from outside have the option of buying the monogram separately.''

Parent organisations are not convinced. They allege that schools are making a huge profit from these shops. ``At the beginning of every session, my child is given a long list of books. Going by the list, a student needs at least 20 notebooks to begin with. The school shop sells it at Rs 16 to Rs 18. In the market or Kendriya Bhandar, the same notebook is available for Rs 5 and 6,'' says a parent.

``Brown book-covering paper costs 50 p to Rs 1 a sheet in the market,'' says a public school teacher. ``However, school bookstores glaze the paper, put the school's name on it and sell it for Rs 4 a sheet. This sheet becomes a compulsory buy for the student and the school in fact does earn a lot of profit.''

The purchase of textbooks is another problem. Till Class VIII, there is no uniformity in the textbooks used by various schools. ``Schools specify the kind of textbook. Since they have contracts with the publisher, these books are not easily available in the market,'' says Batra.

``In our school, there is a Parent Teacher Association sub-committee that keeps a check on the shop,'' says Vibha Parthasarthy, principal of Sardar Patel Vidyalaya. ``Their responsibility includes quality control and making sure that books are available.''

Members of the Parents' Organisation of Public Schools say that this scheme has to be introduced everywhere. ``The present system needs to be stopped immediately,'' says convenor Sudarshan Vaid. ``If cooperative societies are set-up, the costs will come down by half''.