NCTB works in pandemic to reach free textbooks to students in time
The National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) is working relentlessly to reach free textbooks to pre-primary, primary and secondary students in due time for the next academic year despite the coronavirus situation in the country, reports news agency BSS.
Though the stakeholders of the education sector are in uncertainty over the ongoing academic session as all the educational institutions remain closed from 18 March to curb the COVID-19 outbreak in the country, the NCTB officials are optimistic about fulfilling their commitment to reach the textbooks to students on the first day of the new year, 2021.
“Though the process of printing textbooks has been delayed a little bit due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the NCTB is working relentlessly aiming at reaching the textbooks to the students in due time,” NCTB chairman professor Narayan Chandra Saha told the news agency.
Noting that the NCTB is working to start printing of the free textbooks by August, he said, “We would go for printing textbooks by August and complete it by the last week of November or the first week of December”.
The NCTB started calling tenders in this month (June) regarding printing of textbooks, he said, adding, it unveiled the tender for secondary level textbooks on 2 June while tender for the primary textbooks will be floated on 11 June.
According to NCTB officials, many parts of the tender are being completed online so that the process of printing textbooks for the next academic year doesn’t face any problem.
“We continue the process of printing free textbooks amid the COVID-19 situation by holding meetings through virtual media. We kept the paper-tender, which was unveiled on 2 June, live by extending time for five times through the e-government procurement (e-GP),” professor Narayan Chandra said.
About 350 million textbooks will be printed at a cost of over Tk 11 billion for pre-primary, primary and secondary levels this year, he said, adding about 244.1 million books will be printed for secondary level and about 105.4 million for the primary level taking the previous demand into consideration as the new demand is yet to come for the primary level.
About working on printing textbooks amid COVID-19 crisis, NCTB officials said before giving the printing work orders, it will be ensured whether the printing houses have the capacity of maintaining the social distancing during the work period.
A separate NCTB team will monitor the matter even after giving the task, they said.
Prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s government has been distributing textbooks among the pre-primary and secondary students free of cost on the first day of the new year by holding national textbook festival every year since 2010. Over 3.31 billion textbooks were distributed till academic year 2020 since 2010.
The free textbook distribution carried out by the NCTB under the education ministry has earned reputation in the international arena.