Jan 1 deadline set to be missed
Free distribution of a portion of the total textbooks to primary students is likely to miss deadline due to a local printer's failure in printing books on time.
Only fifteen days are left to start the textbook distribution, but Sarkar Group, the local printer that won the contract of printing 10 percent or 2.08 crore copies of the total primary books, is yet to deliver 45 percent of the copies as of yesterday, officials said.
Its deadline, however, ended on Wednesday.
Sources said a syndicate of press owners close to the Sarkar Group is manoeuvring the delay to create a shortage of textbook. The printers will get an opportunity to sell illegal guidebooks during the artificial crisis.
Sarkar Group is entrusted with printing books to be distributed in Dhaka city.
When the group submitted tender documents they claimed competence in the job, but actually the group has a capacity of printing only 1.50 crore books, said an official of NCTB.
The NCTB already relieved Sarkar Group of printing 30 lakh copies and given the responsibility to another printer.
Contacted, Abul Kalam Swapan, one of the proprietors of Sarkar Group, claimed they are working as per the working order and have already given around 1.50 crore copies of books so far.
He told The Daily Star yesterday, "We will complete the task within this month."
However, a major part of textbooks for the next academic session has already been sent to districts and the authorities concerned hope all the students will get the books in time.
The government has aimed at distributing around 23.18 crore textbooks for over three crore students of primary (class I-V), secondary (VI-X), ebtedai (primary level of madrasa) and dakhil (secondary level of madrasa) and vocational classes of 2011 academic year on January 1.
Of them, 10.48 crore copies are for primary students and 12.75 crore for secondary level.
Around 85 percent of secondary-level books have already been sent to district headquarters, according to the National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) stats. And 97 percent of dakhil and ebtedai books have reached districts.
But records show, only 65 percent primary-level books have been sent to districts.
This year, the government for the first time took initiative to print over 5.70 crore copies of textbooks for class I, II and III through international bidding.
Of the books, Indian printers got the contract for over 3 crore copies.
Around 1.70 crore books printed from India have already reached to the upazilas. And in Petrapole port of India, trucks carrying another 1.50 crore books are stranded in jam.
Primary and mass education ministry, foreign ministry and NCTB have requested Bangladesh High Commission in Delhi and Deputy High Commission in Kolkata to take necessary steps to release the books.
"We hope the books will be arriving in the country within two or three days. On arrival, the books will be directly sent to upazilas," said Prof Abul Kashem Miah, member (textbook) of NCTB.
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