The government is set to proceed with printing, binding and distributing 12.53 crore free textbooks for secondary students in the 2026 academic session.

The Advisers Council Committee on Government Purchase (ACCGP) on Wednesday gave approval to three major procurement proposals placed by the Secondary and Higher Education Division.

Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed virtually chaired the meeting of the committee held at Bangladesh Secretariat.

According to official sources, the proposals cover the printing of textbooks for students of classes six, seven and eight across secondary schools, Dakhil madrasas and technical education institutions - in both Bangla and English versions.

For the Class Six textbooks, the total estimated procurement cost stands at Tk 137.87 crore, under which a total of 4.36 crore copies will be printed by 77 selected firms out of 98 bids submitted.

Similarly, for the Class Seven textbooks, the government plans to spend Tk 150.01 crore to print 4.15 crore copies, to be produced by 91 firms chosen from among 100 bidders.

Meanwhile, the Class Eight textbooks will involve a printing contract worth Tk 156.92 crore, covering 4.02 crore copies to be printed by 90 firms, also selected through a competitive bidding process.

All three proposals were placed by the Secondary and Higher Education Division of the Ministry of Education, which will also implement the projects.

Upon scrutiny, the committee reviewed the cost structures, tendering process, and volume of work for each grade before recommending the proposals for approval.

Every year, the government prints and distributes millions of free textbooks to schoolchildren across the country to ensure access to education and prevent dropouts. The timely printing and distribution of these books ahead of each academic year remains a key priority for the Ministry of Education.

Officials said the recommendations are expected to be forwarded to the Cabinet for final approval soon, paving the way for printing to commence so that all students can receive their new textbooks on the first day of the 2026 academic year.

FP/MI