Textbook crisis worsening disparity between well-off and disadvantaged students

Sumaiya Tabassum, a student of class VI at Bagerhat's Adarsha High School, is very committed to her studies. But since the beginning of this year, she has been very frustrated, as she and her classmates have not yet received all their textbooks.

"Out of our 10 main books, we received only two during the first week of January. Over the next month, we got four more. But several books are still missing, including core subjects like Mathematics and English," Sumaiya explained.

Despite these challenges, Sumaiya's studies have not come to a complete standstill. The PDF versions of all the textbooks have been available since the beginning of the year, and Sumaiya has downloaded them onto her smartphone. Many of her classmates have also purchased full sets of unauthorised textbooks printed in Nilkhet, which cost between Tk 4,000 and Tk 6,500.

"Still, almost half the students in our class have no access to either smartphones for PDFs or unauthorised textbooks," Sumaiya said. "As a result, our teachers haven't been able to start giving full-fledged lessons. We are still not sure how much of the syllabus we will need to cover for the half-yearly exams, scheduled for June."

Sumaiya also expressed her sadness about the inequality she observes in the situation. "It's heartbreaking to see some of my classmates without books. It's unfair to them. It's like wanting to play a game but being left out because no one lets you join."

Kamrunnahar Sultana, the mother of two children in classes V and VII respectively, is equally concerned about the impact on their education. "Without physical textbooks, my children are becoming heavily reliant on smartphones and laptops," she said.

Also, reading PDF books on electronic devices does not guarantee focused study. "If my children read from a PDF for 10 minutes, they end up spending the next half hour browsing the internet, chatting with friends, or playing games," Kamrunnahar lamented. 

Kamrunnahar reiterated her concern about the prolonged delay in the textbooks distribution. "With one and a half months of the new year already gone, it might take much longer for my children to get all their books. Ramadan will start in early March, and schools will remain closed until around 10 April. Who knows—perhaps the children won't receive all their textbooks until mid-April."

The government, however, remains optimistic. Although it failed to meet its earlier target of distributing all textbooks by 20 January, Dr Wahiduddin Mahmud, Adviser on Education and Planning, expressed hope that all books would be handed out by February.

But the reality on the ground tells a different story. According to the National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB), of the total 40 crore books to be distributed across all classes, only about 21 crore had been printed by the end of January, leaving 19 crore still unfinished.

And counting the total number of books does not provide an accurate picture of the progress either. The page count of secondary-level textbooks, such as those for classes IX and X, is much higher than that of primary-level books. So, industry insiders estimate that less than half of the total printing work has been completed so far.

The delay is particularly severe for books of classes VI to IX, where only 34% of the printing has been completed due to their higher page count. This means that 66% of the work for these four grades remains unfinished, according to a DW report.  

Mahbub Alam, head teacher from a school in Rajshahi, shared his frustration. "Until late December, we were hopeful that if not on 1 January, all the textbooks would at least be in students' hands within the first week of the year. Teachers hadn't made alternative plans at that point. It was only on 31 December that we realised physical copies of all the books wouldn't be available at the start of the term."

Even though an alternative was offered to them in the form of PDFs available online, according to Alam, many of the teachers were unprepared for this, as they are more accustomed to teaching with physical books in hand. 

"While some adjustments were made during the pandemic, even then most teachers struggled to conduct online classes back then, and it was impossible to get all students to participate."

Md Habibullah Raju, President of the Bangladesh Teachers Forum, an association of NTRCA-recommended teachers, raised an additional concern. "The absence of textbooks is causing some students to skip school. They're not interested in attending classes until they receive their books, which is increasing the risk of dropouts."

Sabbir Ahmed Chowdhury, Assistant Professor at the Institute of Education and Research at Dhaka University, shed light on another layer of disparity caused by the textbook crisis: rural areas are bearing the brunt of the shortage more severely than urban centres. "The percentage of students not receiving their textbooks is significantly higher in rural areas compared to urban ones, making the disparity arising from this issue multifaceted."

Thus, ongoing uncertainty, anxiety, and inequality in the education system continue to rise among students, parents, and teachers. Some parents are even regretting not enrolling their children in English-medium schools due to the persistent issues in the Bangla-medium education system, noted Sabbir. 

However, the government could have effectively managed this crisis if it had been adequately prepared from the outset, believes the education researcher. "If the government had arranged for local printing and distribution and ensured optimal utilisation of resources in coordination with upazila education officers, the challenge of printing and then transporting textbooks from major cities to remote areas could have been significantly reduced." 

"At this point, the government's primary focus should be on ensuring that all students receive their textbooks as quickly as possible. Furthermore, it must guarantee that no further disruptions occur in the education sector for the rest of the academic year. Additionally, steps must be taken to prevent similar crises in the future by implementing a well-prepared plan for the following year," Sabbir concluded.