The education ministry is consistently failing to provide quality new books to the hands of students.
Every year, the books provided at free of cost are distributed with various deficiencies. This year is also no exception.
This time the paper of the books is found to be of low quality with hazy and unclear pictures.
It has been reported that in many cases as the printing quality was low, books have been returned – a total of 31,000 – from Satkhira.
It is too early to get reports about the mistakes in the contents of books, but if the past experience is anything to go by, books will not be free from spelling mistakes or wrong information.
Now, the books are distributed free of cost. Is this the reason for the negligence in making the books with which the tender students will start their classes at the beginning of year?
We have seen from the government too much hype about these ‘free of cost’ books since it started in 2010.
True, the students do not have to directly pay the money for books, but is not the cost of the books borne by the taxpayer’s money, or the students for that matter?
From the NCTB, it is said that it is not impossible to have the 31 crore books to be free of errors or bad printing.
But the authorities at the NCTB forget that it is not always the number of books that is in the question, but preparing flawless sets of manuscripts for books that is.
Ideally, each year the government gets one year before the actual distribution of books.
Since each year, the authorities start much later the work of preparing the manuscripts and printing the books beginning with inviting the quotation, they are inevitably found in a hurry to give books in the hands of students in the beginning of January. The result is the books are of poor quality.
No small sum is spent on the books. This year the government spent about Tk 1400 crore for the purpose with an estimated 30 crore 71 lakh books.
Despite objections from different quarters including guardians, the education authorities have gone ahead with the project of introducing a new curriculum and the students of classes 1, 2, 3, 6, 7 and 8 have received books in the new curriculum. The rest of the classes have been given books of the old curriculum.
Taking enough time in hand and ensuring accountability at every level from writing manuscripts to printing and binding of books, we do not find any reason why sets of flawless books could not be given to the hands of each student.
