NCTB cuts 6m books to save costs and curb informal market
Al Mamun Harun Ur Rashid :
The National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) has printed nearly 60 lakh fewer textbooks this year, a decision officials say has reduced public spending and helped address long standing problems in textbook distribution.
The move is also expected to ease logistical pressure and improve accountability in the book supply chain.
According to NCTB data, a total of 8,59,25,364 books were printed in 2026 for pre primary, primary and ethnic minority students. In comparison, 9,19,54,504 books were printed in 2025, 9,38,03,606 in 2024, 9,66,08,245 in 2023 and 9,98,59,021 in 2022.
Officials said the gradual decline reflects better demand forecasting rather than any cut in student entitlement.
Mohammad Abu Nasher Tuku, Production Controller of the NCTB, said the reduction was necessary to align supply with actual demand at the field level. He said over printing in previous years had created excess stock that was difficult to monitor.
“If more books are supplied than required, it creates an informal market. This is a serious challenge and leads to financial loss for the government exchequer,” Abu Nasher said.
He said education officers at thana and upazila levels were instructed not to submit inflated demands and were warned of legal consequences for doing so.
According to him, this policy has reduced unnecessary requisitions and improved coordination between the NCTB and field offices.
On distribution, Abu Nasher said primary students received their textbooks on schedule.
“By the grace of Allah, we delivered primary level books point by point before Victory Day, and students received 100 percent of their books on the first day,” he said.
Officials said timely delivery helped schools begin the academic year without disruption.
Abu Nasher also highlighted improvements in quality.
“In the last ten years, students in Bangladesh have not seen books of this standard.
The quality of printing paper has improved, including GSM, brightness and opacity, and suppliers were compelled to meet our technical specifications,” he said. He said binding, cutting and overall presentation were also significantly better.
“The binding is of very high quality, the cutting is precise, and the overall get up and make up is very good,” he said, adding that all books were printed locally through local tendering.
He noted that reliance on local printers has strengthened domestic capacity and reduced dependency on foreign suppliers.
Looking ahead, Abu Nasher said book numbers could be reduced further. “I expect that in 2027, the total may decrease by at least another 20 lakh,” he said, citing stronger monitoring by the Directorate of Primary Education.
He said closer supervision at the field level was already showing results. He clarified that the NCTB does not directly punish field officials.
“We collect information and issue warnings, then recommend action to the Directorate of Primary Education, which has administrative control,” he said.
He added that cooperation from the field administration has improved in recent months.
Officials believe that tighter demand assessment, improved quality control and reduced over printing will help ensure timely delivery of textbooks while protecting public funds and strengthening accountability in the system.