‘Textbooks to be distributed on year’s first day’

Staff Correspondent: Like several previous years, the government will distribute textbooks free of cost among the primary and secondary level students in the academic year 2018.

Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid told journalists after visiting Mataul Bright and Ananada Printing Press in the capital on Monday.

"Printing works of these textbooks have already been completed. We have reached 97 percent textbooks at the educational institutions and the remaining will be sent by this week," the minister said.

Nahid said the free textbooks will be distributed among 35,42,90,162 pre-primary, primary, secondary, ibtedayi, dakhil vocational, SSC vocational, small anthropological group and visually challenged students across the country.

Over 40 crore schoolchildren across the country will be celebrating the Textbook Festival receiving books free of cost for their new classes on the first day of the new year joining the festivity at schools and madrasas across the country.

"This (festival) is the outcome of our (government's) sincere commitment to reach the books on the first day of the year," Nahid said.

The education minister is expected to attend the major ceremony of textbook distribution at Azimpur Govt Girls School and College on the first day of January.

Referring to the government's historic decision to distribute free textbooks, Nahid said this has reduced the rate of school dropouts and increased the number of students at primary and secondary levels.

"We have printed an additional 10.70 lakh textbooks for the students of next academic year compared to last year meaning the number of students has increased," he added.

Chowdhury Mufad Ahmed, additional secretary of the education ministry and Prof Narayan Chandra Saha, chairman of National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB), were, among others, present during the visit of printing press.

risingbd/Dhaka/Dec 18, 2017/Hasan/AI