As the 2026-27 academic session begins, parents of students in private CBSE-affiliated schools across India are raising alarms over the escalating costs of textbooks for Classes 1 to 8. While a set of NCERT textbooks costs between ₹200 and ₹700, bundles from private publishers can range from ₹3,000 to ₹10,000, which often include workbooks and supplementary materials. Parents report being compelled to purchase these expensive sets from authorized vendors, limiting their options. Aditya Kaushik, a parent from Karnal, Haryana, shared that he spent ₹3,500 on his daughter’s Class 1 book set, while Shyam Mishra from Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, reported spending ₹8,000 for his son in Class 7 and ₹10,000 for his daughter in Class 8. The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) mandates the use of NCERT textbooks for Classes 9 to 12 but only strongly advises their use for lower grades. Educationist MK Sridhar, who contributed to the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, noted that private schools are permitted to use various publishers to foster creativity in textbooks. However, this flexibility has raised concerns among parents about the financial burden of educational materials.