Education Desk
Concerns are rising that many students may not receive their free textbooks on the first day of 2025 due to delays in the textbook printing process. Officials from the National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) have estimated that around 35 crore free textbooks will be distributed to students for the upcoming year. The textbook printing tender process remains unclear, as the education adviser to the interim government, Wahiduddin Mahmud, announced on August 21 that all tenders for next year’s books had been cancelled. He also mentioned that a review committee would be formed to amend some contents of the textbooks, expressing hope that all textbooks would be distributed by January 1 next year.
After a meeting with the adviser on Tuesday, NCTB acting chairman Professor Rabiul Kabir Chowdhury stated that he had not received any directives from the education ministry about stopping the tender process. He discussed forming a review committee to evaluate the textbooks, which he expects to be established within a week.
Leaders in the printing industry have warned that if the usual procedures are followed, approximately half of the books may not be printed by December. On Tuesday, under the banner of Anti-Discrimination Printing Businesses, industry leaders held a protest in front of the NCTB to demand a 10-point charter, including the cancellation of all tenders, opportunities for all eligible printing companies to participate in new tenders, and legal action against corrupt NCTB officials.
Since 2010, the government has been distributing free textbooks to students from pre-primary to secondary levels. This year, about 30.7 crore new textbooks were distributed among over 3.81 crore students, costing over Tk 1,400 crore.
