Textbooks must reach to students quickly

The new academic year begins for students with the distribution of free textbooks on the first day of the year. Receiving new books on the first day of the year feels like a celebration to the students. The scent of new books not only marks the beginning of a new year but also a new chapter in their lives. The tradition of handing out textbooks to students on the first day of the year started in 2010, but this year, students did not receive their books on that day. It has been reported that primary and secondary school students may receive a few books by January 5, while others will get their books by January 20. However, they will have to wait until February to receive all the books.

According to sources from the National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB), the delay in delivering textbooks is due to the need for reprinting books, changes in the curriculum, and revisions of textbooks as a result of the political situation. After the political shift in August, the NCTB had to restart several tasks from scratch.

Just like this time, 441 textbooks have been revised under the old curriculum after the new curriculum changes, which took some time. Additionally, the National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) has been delayed in starting the printing process. This delay is due to the cancellation of the previous tender, the issuing of a new tender, the delayed finalization of inspection institutions, and the time taken to get approval for related tasks at the ministry level. NCTB is still in the process of signing contracts with printers for some books, although most of the contracts have already been completed. The delay in signing contracts is leading to delays in the printing work as well.

We know why the book printing is delayed; but will the children understand this? In Bangladesh, whenever a new government comes to power, they redesign textbooks according to their preferences. This often involves fulfilling the desires of the ruling party and enhancing their image, which has little to do with students’ acquisition of knowledge. A typical example of this is having the image and quote of a former prime minister on the back cover of textbooks. Officials related to the education administration have said that, instead of the former prime minister's image and quote, the textbooks may feature graffiti or wall art related to the July mass uprising. Introducing students to the uprising is not wrong. The content of the lessons is, of course, important; however, it is no less important to ensure that the books reach the students on time.

It has been five months since the mass uprising took place. It has also been nearly 150 days since the interim government was formed. During this time, students and parents are questioning why the textbooks have not been printed. Undoubtedly, it is a huge task; however, it is evident that some decisions have been delayed. We hope that all textbooks will be distributed to every child by the end of January at the latest. The longer the delay in delivering new books to students, the greater the harm; this is something the government should take into consideration.