All primary level students across the country have received their textbooks on the very first day of the new year, Primary and Mass Education Adviser Prof Bidhan Ranjan Roy Podder said today.
The adviser made the remarks this morning after distributing books at Abul Bashar Government Primary School in Agargaon.
He said this year's textbooks were significantly better in quality, calling it a "major success" for the interim government.
"The government has printed 30 crore free textbooks for both primary and secondary levels this year," he added.
According to the National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB), a total of 8.59 crore textbooks have been prepared for students from pre-primary to Class 5 for the 2026 academic year. The board confirmed that the printing, binding, and cutting processes were completed on time, and all books were dispatched to upazilas well ahead of the distribution date.
While the printing and distribution of primary textbooks have achieved 100 percent completion, sources at NCTB said that over 30 percent of secondary level textbooks have yet to reach schools.
Notably, the usual festive atmosphere of the "Book Festival" was absent this year. Owing to the ongoing state mourning following the death of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, the books were distributed informally to students without any grand celebration.
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