Govt aims to deliver all textbooks by Nov

After years of delays that left students waiting months for textbooks, the authorities hope to deliver all textbooks for the 2027 academic year to upazilas by November 30. 

Around 96 percent of primary textbooks and 63.18 percent of secondary textbooks have already reached upazilas, NCTB Member (Textbooks) Prof Mohammad Abu Naser Tuku told The Daily Star.

However, an estimated 6.6 crore secondary textbooks are still to be delivered, while only 19.62 percent of class-9 books have reached upazilas.

“We hope to deliver all the books by November 30. This will undoubtedly be a milestone,” NCTB Chairman Prof Mohammad Fakhrul Mawla told this correspondent.

If the National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) meets the deadline, it would mark the first time nationwide textbook distribution has been completed by November since free textbook delivery was extended to secondary students in 2010.

DELIVERY

The NCTB plans to print more than 30 crore textbooks for nearly four crore students at pre-primary, primary, secondary, and equivalent levels.

The allocation includes 7.61 crore books for classes 1 to 5, 17.95 crore for classes 6 to 10, 4.16 crore for Ebtedayee students, and 57.31 lakh for pre-primary children, besides books for other streams.

Based on the allocation for classes 6 to 10, an estimated 11.34 crore books have been supplied to upazilas, leaving around 6.61 crore outstanding.

NCTB plans to print more than 30 crore textbooks for nearly four crore students at pre-primary, primary, secondary, and equivalent levels.

According to NCTB member Prof Tuku, all pre-primary textbooks have reached upazilas, while delivery for classes 1 to 3 has exceeded 97 percent.

The figures stand at 95.93 percent for class 4 and 90.76 percent for class 5. Pre-delivery inspection, which checks textbook quality before dispatch, has been completed for 97.53 percent of primary books.

The situation differs at the secondary level, where textbook delivery varies significantly across classes.

Around 87.61 percent of class 6 and 88.79 percent of class 7 textbooks have been distributed to upazilas. Delivery for class 8 stands at 52.38 percent, while fewer than one in five class 9 books have arrived.

Overall, 63.33 percent of secondary books have undergone pre-delivery inspection, while 88.20 percent of Ebtedayee books have been delivered.

DELAYS

The November deadline is not new. The NCTB had set similar targets in earlier years, but deliveries often continued to December or beyond.

A review of available published reports found no confirmed instance of the entire nationwide supply reaching upazilas by the end of November.

Under the Awami League government, most textbooks reached upazilas before the academic year began in several years. For the 2015 academic year, around 95 percent of primary and 99 percent of secondary books reached upazilas by December 29, 2014. For 2020, 98 percent of the 35.39 crore textbooks were supplied to upazilas by early December 2019.

But delays became frequent in subsequent years. The Covid-19 pandemic disrupted textbook printing and distribution for 2021. In 2022, 2023, and 2024, the AL government failed to deliver more than 3 crore textbooks for classes 8 and 9 on time, leaving students waiting until March for complete sets.

The problem persisted under the interim government, which took office after the fall of AL government in August 2024. By January 1, 2025, only around six crore of the required 40.15 crore textbooks had been delivered.

The authorities missed successive deadlines amid textbook revisions, late tendering, paper shortages, and printing delays. Many students were still without complete sets in March, and supply continued to April.

The following year saw some improvement. The NCTB said it completed the supply for the 2026 academic year on February 7, claiming that it was the earliest finish in five years.

The BNP government, which took office later that month, is now aiming to complete the 2027 supply before December.

PRINTING 

Meeting the November 30 deadline, however, remains a challenge, particularly for secondary textbooks.

Under the printing contracts, at least half of the books for class 8 and classes 9-10 were supposed to reach upazilas by November 3. 

The NCTB has served show-cause notices on 32 printing presses over slow progress, particularly in printing books for the higher classes.

It has also warned that contracts with the underperforming presses could be cancelled and their work reassigned.

According to NCTB officials, printing for the 2027 academic year began about a month earlier than it did for 2026.

Sources at the NCTB said many printing presses secured contracts for both primary and secondary textbooks. They completed primary textbook orders before shifting to secondary book printing.

NCTB Research Officer Md Rakibur Rahman told this newspaper that printing could now pick up pace as many secondary textbooks have black-and-white pages. Work on several lots that had to be retendered was also underway, he said.

Rakibur, who also serves as the NCTB’s public relations officer, said four new textbooks for classes 4 and 6, approved by the National Curriculum Coordination Committee on October 25 subject to revisions, had yet to go to press.

The books are Culture of Bangladesh and Sports for class 4, and Learning with Happiness and My Technical Education for class 6. The edited digital files were ready and printing would begin shortly, he added.

Meanwhile, the NCTB is correcting around 38 lakh copies of the class 6 Information and Communication Technology textbook following an error in an illustration. The books already dispatched to district and upazila offices are being recalled for correction.

NCTB Chairman Prof Mawla earlier said the printing presses would bear the additional costs. Officials expect the corrected copies to reach upazilas by November 30. 

The board has also rejected around 9.5 lakh substandard printed forms and 12,000 finished books. Fifty-three monitoring teams are overseeing the printing quality.