Education adviser warns of conspiracies in textbook distribution
The information is being collected about those who have helped us and those who have created obstacles, he says
Education Adviser Wahiduddin Mahmud has accused conspirators of attempting to obstruct the distribution of textbooks and vowed that their activities will be thoroughly investigated.
"There is a conspiracy over the distribution of books. Conspirators have obstructed in various ways. The information is being collected about those who have helped us and those who have created obstacles," he said speaking at the launch of the online version of textbooks at the International Mother Language Institute today (1 January).
Chairman of the National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) Prof Dr AKM Riazul Hasan highlighted the immense scale of this year's textbook revisions and distributions. "We have revised 441 books in just two and a half months. Six crore books have already been distributed, and four crore are ready to be loaded onto trucks," he said.
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He assured that all primary and 10th-grade books would reach schools by January 5, with eight secondary-level books arriving by 10 January and the remaining books by 20 January.
This year, the government has printed some 400 million new textbooks.
The revised editions include significant changes, with some prose, essays, novels and poems being omitted, while new stories, poems and historical topics, such as the July mass uprising, have been incorporated.
Adjustments have also been made to the contents related to the Liberation War, including the declaration of independence, with some topics being added and others removed.
The authorities remain determined to complete the distribution within the set timeline despite challenges.
