For the past 15 years, students from pre-primary to ninth grade in Bangladesh have been receiving free textbooks, with the tradition of celebrating “Book Festival” on January 1 beginning in 2010. This annual event, initiated by the then-government, saw students excitedly receiving new books on the first day of the year. However, this long-standing tradition has been interrupted this year. The interim government has decided to cancel the festival, citing the need to avoid “unnecessary expenses.” Instead, an event has been organized to release the digital versions of the textbooks online.

The ceremony is set to take place at 10 a.m. on January 1 at the International Mother Language Institute in Segunbagicha, Dhaka. The interim government’s education advisor, Professor Dr. Wahiduddin Mahmud, will inaugurate the online version of the textbooks.

Delays in printing and changes in the curriculum, prompted by political transitions, have made it impossible to complete the required number of textbooks on time. As a result, students will need to wait at least another month to receive their new books.

According to the National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB), this year 403.4 million textbooks are being printed for 43.4 million students from pre-primary to tenth grade. This includes 91.9 million books for 20.9 million primary school students and 309.6 million books for 22.4 million secondary-level students. Additionally, over 8,500 Braille books are being prepared for visually impaired students, alongside 4.1 million teacher guides.

As of December 31, only 60.6 million books have been printed. NCTB aims to distribute 6 million books within a few days. Most of the printed books for secondary and madrasa students are for grades six and seven. However, eighth and ninth-grade books are yet to be completed, making it impossible to deliver them to schools on the first day of the year.

NCTB’s chairman, Professor Dr. AKM Riazul Hasan, stated that while every school will receive some books, it may take additional time to deliver a complete set to all students. The authorities are prioritizing tenth-grade textbooks, with around 10 million books already printed and sent to 38 districts. Efforts are underway to distribute the remaining books by January 15.

Primary-level books have seen wider distribution, with first to third-grade books reaching around 400 upazilas. However, fourth and fifth-grade books have only been sent to a limited number of upazilas, reflecting the overall challenges in meeting the annual deadline.