The Muhammad Yunus-led interim government in Bangladesh has once again failed to distribute textbooks to millions of students across the country, causing distress and uncertainty about their education.

Former Education Advisor Wahiduddin Mahmud had assured that the National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) would distribute all 40.15 crore textbooks by February after missing the initial January deadline. However, local media reports confirm that this deadline has also been missed.

A student told The Daily Star, “Our teachers only conduct classes for the subjects we have books for. After that, they send us home. I have heard that students in other schools are facing the same issue.”

Repeated delays harm students’ education

Initially, top officials from the Education Ministry and NCTB promised that all students would receive their textbooks by February. However, the reality is far from expectations, as delays continue to impact education.

According to NCTB data, as of February 19, approximately 70 million (7 crore) books remain unprinted, with the majority intended for secondary-level students, as reported by Prothom Alo.

In January, the Divisional Primary Education Office stated that only 49% of primary and 8.8% of secondary textbooks were delivered in Barisal, according to The Dhaka Tribune.

A distressed student told The Business Standard last month, “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.”

She added, “Almost half the students in our class have no access to either smartphones for PDFs or unauthorized textbooks. As a result, our teachers have not 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.”

Widespread frustration among students and parents

In many regions, students have received only a small number of books, while others have yet to receive any. Frustrated parents and students have expressed their concerns, stating that the ongoing textbook crisis is severely affecting their education.

With exams approaching, the lack of textbooks continues to be a major challenge, raising questions about the interim government’s ability to manage the country’s education system effectively.