Home
+
With Ramadan holidays approaching, students fear not receiving all their books in time as printing delays continue
Published : 25 Feb 2025, 01:50 AM
As the last week of February begins, school students have yet to receive all their textbooks.
Some books for grades eight and nine, as well as for the Ebtedayee level, are still awaiting printing. Students in pre-primary and primary classes are also facing delays in receiving textbooks for grades four and five.
According to the National Curriculum and Textbook Board, or NCTB, which oversees the printing and distribution of textbooks, more than 100 million copies for secondary level are still pending distribution as of Sunday, with 55 million copies yet to be printed.
Two-thirds of the total secondary textbooks have reached students.
For primary level, 1.4 million copies are still to be printed, but over 96 percent of the total primary textbooks have received distribution clearance.
Meanwhile, following classes on Feb 27, secondary and lower secondary schools will close for over a month in celebration of the holy month of Ramadan and Eid-ul-Fitr.
Primary schools will close after classes on Feb 25.
Classes are scheduled to resume on Apr 7 for primary level and Apr 9 for secondary and lower secondary levels.
Amid these circumstances, concerns are growing over whether all textbooks can be delivered to students before the holiday.
Publishers claim all books will be printed by the second week of March.
However, the NCTB and the education ministry say all "necessary" books will be in students' hands by February.
The NCTB explains that the delays in providing textbooks at the start of the year were due to the time taken to revise the curriculum and print new books following a change in government during the mass uprising.
As the end of February approaches, 56.4 million copies of textbooks are still pending printing.
The NCTB's records indicate that among these, 55 million copies pertain to the secondary level, while 1.4 million copies are for the primary level.
Hafizur Rahman, the distribution controller at the NCTB, told bdnews24.com on Sunday: “The total demand for textbooks for secondary, Dakhil, and Ebtedayee students exceeds 304.8 million copies.
Of these, nearly 249.85 copies have been printed, and over 201.34 copies have received distribution clearance.
A total of 66.21 percent of secondary textbooks have received clearance, and 82.16 percent have been printed.
“We still have some books for grades eight and nine, as well as for the Ebtedayee level, pending printing. We hope that all books related to subjects that will have exams will reach secondary level students in February,” he said.
Hafizur added that 116 domestic printing firms are involved in the printing of these books.
“Among them, 35 printing firms have completed their work and received clearance for full distribution. Those firms that have completed their work have been recognised, although the pace of work at one or two firms has been slower.”
NCTB Production Controller Abu Naser Tuku told bdnews24.com, “Out of over 91.95 copies of books at the primary level, nearly 90.55 copies have been printed. Distribution clearance has been granted for nearly 88.72 copies. Over 96.48 percent of total books have received clearance for distribution.
“We still have some books for grades four, five, and pre-primary pending printing. We expect to complete the printing of all books by the end of February.”
PRINTING PRESSES SAY TEXTBOOKS WON’T BE READY BEFORE MID-MARCH
Despite NCTB’s assurances, printing press owners cite paper supply delays as a major hurdle, saying they will need until the second week of March to complete the work.
Rupali Printing Press, which is responsible for printing books from pre-primary to grade ten, faces delays in receiving imported paper.
Its proprietor Tofayel Khan told bdnews24.com: “The NCTB facilitated the paper import process, and the first shipment was supposed to reach the presses last Friday.
“But as of Sunday, it had not arrived. Once we receive the paper, it will take another ten days to finish all the work. Even if the shipment reaches the press by the end of February, completing all books will take until the second week of March.”
Tofayel, a former president of the Bangladesh Printing Industry Association and the Textbook Printing and Marketing Association, added: “Printing firms have already made partial payments for the paper. A significant sum has been paid to the importing companies. If the paper does not arrive, we will be unable to finish the work.
“We finance book production through bank loans, using the imported paper as collateral. Since the loans have already been secured, publishers will not be able to obtain new loans for additional paper purchases.
“That is why we are waiting for the imported stock. In the meantime, we are managing with some paper sourced from the local market,” he said.
He also raised concerns about next year’s textbook production.
“The standard of paper to be used next year has not been determined yet. Moreover, paper deteriorates if stored for too long. So, we must use the imported stock to complete the current work,” he said.
Anwar Hossain, vice president of the Bangladesh Printing Industry Association and owner of Dohar Printing Press, echoed similar concerns.
He told bdnews24.com, “Even if the imported paper arrives under NCTB supervision, we will still need 10 to 12 days to complete the printing. The timeline depends entirely on when the paper reaches the presses.
“Our firm alone needs 250 tonnes of paper to finish the remaining work. Of this, 100 tonnes are awaiting import, while we have managed to procure the remaining 150 tonnes from the local market to continue operations.”
CONCERNS OVER SECONDARY SCHOOL TEXTBOOKS BEFORE HOLIDAYS
Most primary schools have already received their full set of textbooks, but the delay in delivering books to secondary schools has raised concerns among teachers, who fear it may impact mid-year exams.
Jannatul Naima, head teacher of Dhaka’s Nilkhet Government Primary School, told bdnews24.com: “Some exercise books for pre-primary students were pending, but they arrived late last week.”
However, secondary schools are still waiting for all their textbooks.
Kurigram District Education Officer Shamsul Alam said, “Some Upazilas have yet to receive all the books for seventh and eighth graders, though we have received books for other subjects.”
Mujibur Rahman, head teacher of BTCL Ideal School in Dhaka’s Moghbazar, said on Sunday evening: “Our sixth and tenth graders have received all their books, while seventh and eighth graders are only missing home economics. Ninth graders, however, have received just three books so far. We hope they will get the rest soon.”
Despite the shortages, Mujibur said his school has taken special measures.
“We have created subject-specific WhatsApp groups where teachers share screenshots from PDF copies of missing books. This helps students keep up with their studies even if they haven’t received their books yet. If books arrive during the holidays, we will ensure quick distribution.”
In Pabna’s Sujanagar, Upazila Secondary Education Officer Solaiman Hossain said: “We have received all books for seventh and tenth graders, but some books for sixth, eighth, and ninth graders are still missing.”
Habibullah Raju, assistant teacher at Khalilpur High School and president of Bangladesh Shikkhok Forum, said the shortages have affected class attendance.
“By the end of February, many seventh and eighth graders are still without books, which has led to lower attendance.
“We urge NCTB to ensure all students get their books before the holidays. If books arrive during the break, it will be challenging to distribute them on time,” he said.
Mahir Shahriar, a seventh grader at Banasree Ideal School and College, said: “I received all my books except Shohoz Arbi Path. Bengali, English, and mathematics were distributed at the beginning of the year, while the rest came this week.”
Naznin Mahal, a doctor in Dhaka, said her two sixth-grade children, studying at different schools, are still waiting for books.
“At the beginning of the year, my daughter at Viqarunnisa Noon School’s Bashundhara branch got Bengali, English, and mathematics books, while my son at Adamjee Cantonment School received only bengali.
“We haven’t received any new books since. Some parents printed books from PDFs, and I had to make photocopies from them to continue their studies,” she said.
NCTB REMAINS OPTIMISTIC DESPITE DELAYS
NCTB Chairman Prof AKM Riazul Hasan remains hopeful that the "necessary" books will reach students within the next few days.
“We still have 55 million books left to print, while 30 to 40 million books are ready but awaiting binding. There is also a demand for several million extra copies. However, we expect to deliver all textbooks required for mid-year exams before the holidays,” he said.
To address the shortage, NCTB is facilitating the import of 7,800 tonnes of paper, with the first shipment expected to reach printing presses this week.
[Writing in English by Arshi Fatiha Quazi]
