Noman Mosharef :
Uncertainty continues overshadowing the education of approximately three crore pupils across the country as delays in textbook printing and other issues hinder timely distribution.
Further confusion arises from conflicting statements by authorities. The Adviser to the Education Ministry Wahiduddin Mahmud recently admitted he could not confirm when students would receive their textbooks for the current academic year.
“Due to various circumstances, I can’t say specifically when all the books will be available for students this year,” he told reporters at the Secretariat in Dhaka on Tuesday.
Adviser to the ministry of primary and mass education, Bidhan Ranjan Roy, attributed the delays partly to incorporating the July-August uprising history into the curriculum.
“It will take some time, but we are trying to get new textbooks into students’ hands as early as possible,” he stated.
Meanwhile, Chief Adviser’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam expressed optimism that students would receive all textbooks by next month.
He noted that while the textbook festival was previously held on 1 January under the Awami League government, it often took until March – or even July in some cases – to complete the distribution.
The tradition of providing textbooks on the first day of the academic year began in 2010 under the Awami League administration. However, delays have become frequent in recent years.
Students and educators expressed their frustration over the situation. Sazid Hasan, a ninth-grade student from Raipura Upazila, Narsingdi, was found playing during class hours.
He explained that they had not received their books on the first day of the academic year, leaving them idle.
Labiba Ayesha Rahman, a Class 10 student at MDC Model Institute, voiced concerns about syllabus completion, saying, “Other batches had two years to finish one book and take exams. We have to finish new books in one year, and we haven’t even received them yet.”
Rashid Adarsha High School Headmaster Debdas Barury stated that his school had received Mathematics, English, and Bengali books but only distributed them to a few students. “We will hand out the rest when the government sends them, but it may take another week or more,” he said.
Educational experts highlighted the potential impact of delays. Professor Emeritus Manzoor Ahmed of BRAC Institute of Educational Development said the lack of textbooks would particularly affect primary and pre-primary students. He added, however, that skilled and resourceful teachers could mitigate the impact by using innovative teaching methods.
According to the National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB), around 40 crore books are being printed for over 4.4 crore students from pre-primary to Class 10 this year. However, only 20 percent of these books, mostly for primary-level students, have been printed so far.
Printing delays were attributed to re-tendering, procurement approvals, and paper shortages, exacerbated by guidebook publishers competing for printing resources. NCTB member Prof Riad Choudhury explained that changes to the curriculum, including the revision of 655 books, had significantly delayed the process.
Prof Riad acknowledged that it would be impossible to deliver all textbooks by the first week of January. Primary-level books and three secondary-level books – Bangla, English, and Mathematics – are expected by the end of the year, while the remaining books may not be available until mid-January.
However, printing industry representatives remain sceptical. A leader of the Printing Industries Association, speaking anonymously, estimated that even with maximum effort, textbook printing might not be completed before March.
Tofael Khan, President of the Bangladesh Textbook Printing and Marketing Association, confirmed that books for Classes 1 to 3 have been printed, and Classes 4 and 5 are nearing completion. However, secondary-level books are still facing delays due to late starts in the printing process.
This year, the government increased the number of textbooks from 31 crore to 40 crore to accommodate changes in the curriculum, further complicating the distribution process. The challenge of timely delivery has persisted over the past three years, with delays often pushing the distribution of some books into March.
The situation underscores the need for better planning and execution to ensure the uninterrupted education of millions of students across the country.
