by
.jpg)
Dhaka, 28 May 2025.: The National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) has initiated preparations for textbooks for the 2026 academic year, implementing stringent measures to prevent the overprinting of books, resulting in savings of approximately Tk 200 crore. According to NCTB, around 4 crore fewer books will be printed this year, a significant reduction compared to previous years.
Typically, textbook printing is based on demands submitted by field-level education officers. However, complaints persisted that these demands were inflated by 15-20% beyond actual needs. To address this, a special team led by NCTB’s acting chairman, Professor Robiul Kabir Chowdhury, began verifying data across all districts starting in January. A three-tier verification process was employed, including cross-checking demands with student registration data, collecting institution-specific information via NCTB’s app, and on-site verification by 32 mobile teams.
The verification revealed that demands were inflated by 25-30% on average. For instance, in Rajapur Upazila of Jhalokati, 78,850 unnecessary books were identified, a 33% reduction from previous demands. Rajapur Upazila Secondary Education Officer Mostafa Alam stated that demands were calculated based on student attendance, with a 5% buffer for potential losses or new admissions, yet a significant discrepancy was found compared to past submissions.
Professor Riyad Chowdhury, NCTB’s member (textbooks), noted that after issuing strict warnings against inflated demands, accurate data began flowing from the field. For 2026, NCTB will print 8.52 crore books for 2.04 crore pre-primary and primary students and 21.58 crore books for 1.95 crore secondary students, totaling 30.10 crore books. This is nearly 10 crore fewer than last year’s 40.12 crore.
The cancellation of the new curriculum and changes in mandatory subjects for grades 6, 7, 8, and 10 have further reduced printing needs, with 5.19 crore fewer books for grade 10 and 40 lakh fewer for other grades. This initiative not only saves costs but also breaks a long-standing culture of irregularity in textbook distribution.
AI/MR
