Dhaka: The National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) is aiming to finalize the distribution of textbooks for secondary students by January 15.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, after successfully distributing all textbooks to pre-primary and primary students, the NCTB has set a target to distribute the remaining textbooks for secondary levels, including schools, madrashas, and vocational institutions.
The NCTB has already completed 84.78 percent of the distribution for a total of 30,02,55,154 textbook copies for the current academic year, as revealed in an NCTB release today. The release stated, “It will be possible to ensure distribution of all the rest of the textbooks for the secondary level by January 15.” The publication and distribution of 8,59,30,880 copies of textbooks have been accomplished for pre-primary and primary students across the country ahead of Victory Day, enabling them to return home with all required textbooks on January 1.
The release further highlighted that the distribution of books for Ebtedayee Education and the Braille system, which serves blind or visually impaired students, has nearly reached completion. The NCTB is in the final stages of printing and pre-delivery inspection for 21,43,24,274 textbooks intended for secondary (classes six to nine) and Ebtedayee students. According to NCTB statistics, 88.50 percent of publications and 81.60 percent of pre-delivery inspections have been completed in this category.
Up to now, 78.69 percent of these textbooks have been dispatched to educational institutes nationwide. Specifically, 96.16 percent of books for the Ebtedayee level, 87.96 percent for class nine, and 85.61 percent for class six have been distributed. However, the distribution for classes VII and VIII stands at 68.69 percent and 54.76 percent, respectively, with ongoing efforts to expedite this process.
To aid accessibility, the NCTB has uploaded an online edition of 647 textbooks for all educational stages on their website (www.nctb.gov.bd) since December 28. Despite the official agreement deadline with publication organizations being February 3, the government is committed to ensuring textbook distribution for secondary and vocational students by January 15.