The distribution of free textbooks to students of schools on the New Year’s Day has been thrown into ‘uncertainty’ this time with the authorities and the printing presses blaming each other for delay in completing tender formalities. The printers say the National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) delayed the floating of tender and repeated the process, which left them with little time to finish the printing job. NCTB officials acknowledged the delay in the tender process but said the printing presses raised the costs through syndication, forcing the authorities to call the tender again. With less than one and a half months left, the officials still hope that the students will receive the books on schedule.
Students celebrating the receipt of new textbooks for free at a school event known as “textbook festival” on the first day of the year has become a tradition in Bangladesh after the government launched the programme over two decades ago. In the past 12 years, the government distributed more than 4.01 billion textbooks to the students of primary and secondary levels for free. The books were sent to the primary educational institutions in time this year, but the delivery to the students was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. The NCTB said at least 100 million books have been printed and sent to different parts of Bangladesh for distribution on the New Year’s Day of 2022. The government plans to distribute 347 million textbooks at the beginning of 2022.
The printing presses used to get 98 days to complete the task, but this time they got 74 days. Those having a big workforce may not face any trouble, but it becomes a race against the clock for many small companies. It would have been easier for everyone if the NCTB tender formalities were done in time. We’re trying our best to deliver the books in time. Generally, the tender process for printing the textbooks for the following year is completed by May and the printers begin work in June after receiving work orders. The entire process was deferred last year due to the pandemic. The NCTB needs to accelerate the printing process this time. Since education equips students with knowledge and skills to overcome poverty, we need to invest more in education, and making free textbooks available at the right time is a part of the endeavour.
