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Published : 17 Dec 2025, 01:17 AM
The printing of new textbooks for pre-primary and primary students has been completed by mid-December, with a total of about 85.92 million copies produced, easing worries for younger learners ahead of the new academic year.
Almost all of these books for pre-primary and grades 1 to 5 reached Upazilas just before Victory Day, ensuring near-complete coverage at the grassroots level.
In contrast, printing for secondary-level textbooks remains behind schedule, raising uncertainty over whether students will receive all their books on the first day of the year.
Officials of the National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB), the government body overseeing textbook production, say they are putting “maximum effort” to complete printing for secondary students by December.
Even so, they acknowledge that some books for grades 7 and 8 may not reach Upazilas until the first part of January.
This year, around 300 million textbooks are being printed for primary and secondary levels combined, all through domestic printing firms. Of these, printing of 214.3 million copies for secondary and Ebtedayee students began in early November.
Last year, following the July Uprising and a return to the old curriculum alongside other procedural hurdles, textbook printing started in December, and distribution to students stretched into March.
Learning from that experience, the NCTB had planned to begin secondary-level printing in September this year. However, delays caused by the cancellation of the initial tender process have again pushed schedules back, prompting officials themselves to express doubts over timely delivery at the start of the year.
Mohammad Monir, a representative of third-party inspection agent Infinity Survey and Inspection, told bdnews24.com on Tuesday that printing and binding of 85.92 million copies for pre-primary and Grades 1 to 5 had been completed. Pre-delivery inspection for all books has also been finished.
As of Monday, 85.15 million copies, or 99.1 percent, had already been distributed.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the education ministry said the NCTB had completed printing and supply of all pre-primary and primary textbooks ahead of Victory Day through “collective and sincere efforts” by all stakeholders.
The ministry described the achievement as unprecedented in recent years, noting that completing such a large and complex task within the stipulated time was a “rare milestone”.
The statement credited the government’s commitment, alongside the dedication of printing presses, transport agencies, and NCTB officials and staff.
The NCTB’s plan to begin secondary textbook printing in September was derailed when the government procurement committee cancelled the first round of tenders for grades 6, 7 and 8, causing a delay of about two months. Printing of textbooks for secondary and Ebtedayee levels eventually began in November.
This has fuelled concern over whether all secondary students will receive their full set of new books at the start of the year. Asked about progress, NCTB Public Relations Officer SM Asaduzzaman declined to comment.
Distribution Controller Matiur Rahman Khan Pathan told bdnews24.com that printing for Ebtedayee grades 1 to 5 was nearly complete, with 90 percent already distributed at Upazila level and full delivery expected by Dec 22.
He said around 60 percent of textbooks for grade 9 had been printed, and presses were being urged to complete the rest as quickly as possible. Printing for grade 6, he added, was “well advanced”, with all subjects expected to reach Upazilas within December.
Printing for Grades 7 and 8 textbooks is still ongoing. While some presses are focused on grade 9, others are working at full capacity on the other two grades.
Contracts for printing textbooks for grades 6 to 8 were signed in the first week of November, allowing 60 days for printing and 10 more for ancillary work. That timeline was later reduced to 45 days, meaning completion is due by the end of December.
“We are in daily contact with the printing presses to finish grade 7 and 8 books as fast as possible,” Pathan said, adding that meetings with several publishers were scheduled again on Wednesday.
He said the NCTB was striving to deliver all subjects’ books for grades 7 and 8 by the start of the year, but conceded that some “less important subjects” might take until the first week of January if printing cannot be completed sooner.
