NCTB Claims Textbooks Will Be Delivered in January, Stakeholders Express Uncertainty
Although there are some problems with printing free textbooks at the secondary level, the National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) has claimed that all students will receive their textbooks next January. However, leaders of the Bangladesh Mudran Shilpa Samity (BMSS) say that if the government shows sincerity and effort, it will be possible to distribute the textbooks in January. Otherwise, it will not be possible to distribute all books in January.
To ensure timely printing, binding, and delivery of textbooks, the Ministry of Education and NCTB have recently held meetings with printing press owners. When asked, NCTB’s interim chairman Md. Mahbubul Haque Patwari said, “Our plan is to deliver books in January. And we are working accordingly.”
NCTB reports that the first tender for printing sixth-grade textbooks for the 2026 academic year was invited on May 4 of this year. Subsequently, tenders were invited for printing and supplying textbooks for other grades. The tender for pre-primary books was invited on May 18 and opened on June 17. After the tenders were invited, the tenders for primary grades one to three were opened on June 30, and the tenders for grades four and five were opened on July 15. The sixth-grade books were opened on June 2, the seventh-grade on June 4, the eighth-grade on June 23, the ninth-grade on July 24, and the tender for Ebtedayi books was opened on July 10. The tender for a lot of small ethnic group textbooks was opened on June 19. But as the procurement proposal was not approved by the Cabinet Committee on Public Purchase, NCTB carried out the printing activities by re-inviting tenders.
When asked whether printing and delivering textbooks on time would be possible, former president of BMSS Tofayel Khan said, “Primary textbooks are small and can be printed in a short time. There are problems with secondary. As the Cabinet Committee on Public Purchase did not approve the procurement, re-tenders were invited several times for some lots of secondary textbooks. As a result, due to the loss of time in the printing process, uncertainty has arisen regarding the timely printing and delivery of textbooks. Coordination issues between the ministry and NCTB have caused delays. NCTB initially took good initiatives regarding printing. If the government shows sincerity and effort, then it will be possible to deliver books in January. Otherwise, not all books can be delivered in January.”
He further stated that printing and supplying primary-level textbooks is progressing well. NCTB stated that all primary textbooks will be printed by November and delivered to institutions by December.
When asked, Abu Naser Tuku, the production controller responsible for primary textbooks at NCTB, said, “All primary textbooks will be printed by November. They can be delivered by December. Students will receive all primary books in January.”
Meanwhile, on November 10, re-tenders were invited for printing, binding, and supplying textbooks for Ebtedayi Madrasahs (primary level), and grades six, nine, and ten (Bangla and English versions) of the secondary level. After the tenders are opened and agreements are made with NCTB, printing will begin from the scheduled time. Those involved expressed uncertainty, saying that it would be impossible to print and deliver the textbooks of grades one to five of Ebtedayi Madrasahs, and grades six, nine, and ten of the secondary level (Bangla and English versions), within less than two months.
Regarding this, NCTB’s interim chairman Md. Mahbubul Haque Patwari said, “We signed a contract on November 6. The printing institution delivered books within 12 days. Re-tenders have been issued for sub-lots. A few lots have faced this issue. They will deliver the books on time.”
When asked whether all agreements for printing, binding, and supplying books have been completed with printing press owners, Md. Mahbubul Haque Patwari said, “Even if all contracts are not finished, we are not waiting for the given time after the contract. We are motivating them (printing institutions) to finish the books before the contractual period. They have some problems, and we are trying to solve them. They had concerns regarding electricity—those issues have been addressed. The day before yesterday, we sat with the educational adviser along with the printing institution owners. We will do whatever is needed on our end.”
Regarding printing secondary-level textbooks, NCTB’s distribution controller Mohammad Motiur Rahman Khan Pathan said, “We will be able to deliver textbooks on time. Half of the Ebtedayi (primary level) books have already been printed. The remaining books will be printed by the 25th of this month. Printing of ninth-grade books has started. Out of 97 presses, 92 have already started printing. If we can complete the contracts for grades six, seven, and nine, they will be able to deliver the books within 30 days. There will be no problem.”
When asked why re-tenders were invited on November 10, Mohammad Motiur Rahman Khan Pathan said, “Re-tenders were issued because eligible bidders were not found in some lots. These are just a few lots; the work will be ordered quickly and completed in a short time.”
It is worth mentioning that NCTB will print over 300 million textbooks for the 2026 academic year. Of these, about 84,925,000 are for pre-primary to primary level, and about 214 million are for grades six to ten at the secondary level, totaling roughly 300 million textbooks. Additionally, printing is ongoing for Ebtedayi Madrasah textbooks from grades one to five.
