AMID the pandemic-induced vacation in the educational institutions, the National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) may be unable to distribute the free textbook in the 2021 academic year. In many cases, printing companies stopped printing textbooks due to a paper shortage as the paper suppliers could not provide papers at a low tender price. And in some cases, the NCTB authorities have not offered the manuscript for printing. The successive governments’ cumulative triumph of schooling enrollment from pre-primary to secondary level will be threatened for many causes, including textbooks-related uncertainty.
Though the education sector stakeholders are uncertain over the ongoing academic session, the NCTB is optimistic about fulfilling their commitment to reach the textbooks to students on the first day of 2021. The NCTB has decided to print 35 crore books for free distribution this year. In previous years, most of the books reached different parts of the country by the first week of November. However, this year the printing process would not be completed in November. It is informed that the paper millers earlier agreed to provide papers at lower prices but now demanding higher prices. Meanwhile, this crisis has been created as a few companies have taken work by lowering the tender price of paper. Many of them were stopped by the NCTB when they tried to release low-quality paper.
Since the coronavirus detection, sales of writing and printing paper slumped 70 per cent to 15,000 tonnes per month and eventual closure of schools, colleges, and universities. It was 50,000 tonnes in the pre-Covid-19 period. NCTB for free distribution among school students requires roughly 60,000 tonnes of paper annually. The NCTB and the paper millers should come up in a nexus thus, both parties can be winners, and the first day of the New Year would be celebrated Textbook Day. The NCTB can also consider the paper millers’ demands, while paper millers should stock out paper.
