On the first day of the new year, students received some of their required textbooks despite lingering uncertainty over the timely distribution of free books for the 2025 academic year.
Many students returned home without all their required books on the first day of the year. Unlike previous years, no textbook festival was held on the first day of the year.
According to the National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB), over 400 million textbooks are being printed for the 2025 academic year. Of these, 93.8 million are designated for primary-level students, and approximately 311.6 million are allocated for Ebtedayee and secondary-level students.
NCTB Chairman Professor Dr AKM Riazul Hasan stated that all textbooks for grades 1 to 3, along with Bangla, English, and Mathematics books for grades 4 and 5, were scheduled for distribution. For students in grades 6 to 10, only partial sets of Bangla, English, and Mathematics books would be provided.
The books were distributed to students without any formal ceremonies.
In Sunamganj district, more than 3.3 million textbooks are required for secondary-level students this academic year. However, as of last Monday, not a single secondary-level textbook had reached the district.
For primary-level students in Sunamganj, while books for grades 1 to 3 have been delivered, none for grades 4 and 5 had arrived. This information was confirmed by local primary and secondary education officials.
In Netrokona, local education officials reported receiving only about 15,000 secondary-level textbooks, against a demand of over three million. For primary-level students, the requirement stands at over 1.5 million books, but only around 700,000 have been delivered so far.
The District Primary Education Office in Mymensingh reported that the district’s 3,500 government and non-government primary schools accommodate 750,000 students. Among them, 271,725 students are in grades 4 and 5, while the rest are in grades 1, 2, and 3.
Although all textbooks for grades 1 to 3 have reached the schools, no books have been delivered for grades 4 and 5. As a result, students in these grades will not receive their new textbooks on the first day of the year.
dhaka tribune
