Published : 06 Oct 2026, 06:20 PM
Updated : 06 Oct 2026, 06:31 PM
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) is probing whether leaked estimates and contractor collusion drove up the cost of free textbooks by nearly Tk 2.52 billion.
An ACC enforcement team from its headquarters raided the National Curriculum and Textbook Board office in Dhaka’s Motijheel on Tuesday.
The team collected documents including copies of preliminary estimates, official price lists and minutes of the NCTB’s 423rd board meeting, according to an ACC statement.
The documents will be examined before a full report is submitted to the commission.
The probe comes amid allegations that estimated prices for printing textbooks for the 2027 academic year were leaked, later increased and then divided among contractors.
According to the NCTB website, tenders for the 2027 textbooks were invited in phases from early June.
Tenders for pre-primary and Ebtedayee books were issued on Jun 2, followed by those for Classes 1-5 on Jun 3, Class 6 on Jun 7 and Class 7 on Jun 9.
The anti-graft agency received allegations that some contractors learned the NCTB’s estimated prices in advance and subsequently sought increases.
Seventy-five printing industry owners applied for higher estimated prices.
The minutes of the NCTB’s 423rd board meeting say the prices were revised following their requests.
