Government to deliver 100% of books to upazilas by November 30, 'Zero Tolerance' for quality maintenance

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News Desk: The current BNP-led government aims to deliver revised textbooks to nearly 40 million students across the country before the start of the 2027 academic year. To this end, the National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) is actively working to ensure the supply of 100% quality books to every upazila by November 30.

According to the Ministry of Education and the NCTB, printing of pre-primary, primary, and secondary level textbooks is in full swing at printing presses in Dhaka and various parts of the country. A 'zero tolerance' policy for quality control has been adopted at every stage—from the printing presses to field-level reception—to ensure book delivery within the deadline. As part of the monitoring efforts, a total of 53 monitoring teams, comprising the Ministry of Education, NCTB, and multiple intelligence agencies, are working round-the-clock in the field. Meanwhile, nearly 4.5 lakh printed forms and 27,000 sub-standard books from various presses have been canceled and destroyed for failing to meet quality standards.

Ministry officials stated that not only printing firms, but field-level textbook recipient officials and teachers will also face disciplinary action if any irregularities or negligence are observed during book reception. The government is determined to deliver 100% quality and faultless books to students on the very first day of the new academic year at any cost.

Regarding this, NCTB Chairman Professor Mohammad Golam Fakhrul Maula said, "The government maintains a strict stance on book quality this year. Due to non-compliance with quality standards, nearly 4.5 lakh printed forms and 27,000 low-quality printed books have already been canceled. The Ministry and NCTB are working tirelessly to deliver 100% quality and flawless textbooks to upazilas by November 30."

The Chairman added, "Although there were opportunities for collusion involving unscrupulous circles at the press and field levels in the past, direct quality verification responsibilities have now been assigned to concerned district and upazila education officers and heads of institutions during textbook receipt. If any deviation in book quality is found even after receipt, the concerned recipient officer will also be brought to task."

Level-Wise Updated Printing Status

According to NCTB’s production report dated September 22, a total of 307,198,101 copies of books will be printed across pre-primary, primary, Ebtedayee, secondary, Dakhil, vocational, and technical levels. This includes books for ethnic minority groups and visually impaired students. Printing work started a month earlier than last year, and printing operations are progressing in full swing across various presses nationwide.

Out of 5,730,640 books for the pre-primary level, 4,266,253 copies (74.45%) have been printed. Additionally, out of 76,097,096 books for the primary level, 28,078,996 copies (36.96%) have been completed, while out of 221,182,592 books for the secondary level, 15,264,400 copies (7%) have been printed.

An official from the distribution wing of NCTB said, "Printing of pre-primary level books is near completion. Textbook delivery has already commenced in several upazilas across the country, including Banchharampur and Sarail. 100% of books will be delivered phase-wise to all upazilas nationwide by November 30. Only English version books and special textbooks for ethnic minorities will be sent to the district level."

NCTB informed that out of 113 contracted presses with the government, printing is currently underway at 91 presses across the country. To tackle temporary power outages, generator backups have been made mandatory for large presses, while priority power supply is being ensured in coordination with local power departments. To ensure paper GSM and printing quality of new books, lab testing is being conducted alongside PDI (Pre-Delivery Inspection) agencies. Paper samples from 9 presses were recently tested at the BCSIR lab and found to meet standard quality.

Three-Tier Monitoring and Intelligence Surveillance

NCTB stated that to prevent opacity, irregularities, or artificial shortages in the textbook printing process and supply chain, multiple intelligence agencies have been deployed in the field alongside special teams led by a group of sharp NCTB officers.

The agency added that a total of 53 monitoring teams from NCTB and the Ministry of Education are working continuously. Among them, 33 internal monitoring teams from NCTB and 7 teams from the Ministry of Education are keeping strict vigil on the printing presses around the clock. Furthermore, 5 special teams led by the NCTB Secretary and members are taking immediate action against concerned printing firms as soon as information is received on the ground. Monitoring officials are physically present at the presses daily from 9 AM until night.

'Zero Tolerance' for Quality Control

NCTB officials stated that to ensure paper brightness (85%) and printing quality of new books, chemical and qualitative quality tests are being conducted through appointed PDI agencies alongside NCTB oversight. Paper samples from 9 presses were recently randomly tested at the Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR) laboratory, and all samples were proven to be of standard quality. Moreover, nearly 4.5 lakh printed forms and 27,000 low-quality books were canceled and destroyed for failing to meet standard criteria.

Minister of Education and Primary & Mass Education Dr. A N M Ehsanul Hoque Milon said, "No low-quality paper books will be tolerated in book deliveries at the upazila level. The government has set a reasonable price this time after verifying market rates, so that no one gets the opportunity to produce low-quality books on the pretext of low pricing. No printing press or person involved will be spared if they fail to supply quality books within the specified timeframe."

NCTB Member (Textbook) Professor Mohammad Abu Naser Tuku said, "Work is progressing according to our roadmap to deliver books to students on time. Press owners have been given clear instructions to finish supplying books by November 30. Field teams are present at the presses every day to supervise operations. Our main goal is for students to receive a complete set of new textbooks on the very first day of the year."