DHAKA: Primary and secondary level students across the country received over six crore copies of new textbooks free of charge on the first day of the New Year, marking a major distribution effort in educational resources.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, on January 1st, a total of 6 crore 8 lakh 19 thousand and 44 books were distributed simultaneously in primary and secondary schools nationwide. Of these distributed books, 441 have been revised for the primary and secondary school levels. This initiative forms part of a larger goal to distribute nine crore six lakh 40 thousand and 415 textbooks in both Bengali and English versions for classes one to five, including materials for ethnic groups. So far this year, four crore 63 lakh 86 thousand 887 textbooks have been distributed.
Prof Dr. AKM Riazul Hasan, Chairman of the National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB), revealed that the distribution included 1 crore 65 lakh 89 thousand and 514 books made using the Print-Digital Integration (PDI) method. He assured that the remaining textbooks would be distributed shortly. Hasan also noted that the revised textbooks would be accessible online via the NCTB website, with the remaining primary level textbooks expected to reach students by January 5 and all levels receiving their books by January 20.
The official unveiling of the new textbooks for the academic year was conducted by Education Adviser Wahiduddin Mahmud at a ceremony held at the International Mother Language Institute in the capital. Mahmud highlighted the challenges faced in printing books through NCTB until the end of 2024, noting that prior practices of printing abroad have ceased for this year. This change has enabled the production of better quality books with advanced printing techniques. The adviser indicated plans to update the printing process based on the recent experiences for future improvements.