While primary students across Bangladesh started the 2026 academic year with new books, millions of secondary and Ebtedayee madrasa students returned to classrooms today to find their desks empty.
According to the National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB), approximately 58.2 million textbooks—nearly 27% of the total secondary requirement—have yet to reach local distribution centers.
The NCTB targeted the distribution of 214.3 million books for secondary and Ebtedayee levels. However, as of Wednesday night, only 156.1 million copies (73%) had reached the Upazila level.
The crisis is most acute for Grade 8, where less than half of the required books have been delivered, and Grade 7, which has seen only a 58% delivery rate. In contrast, Grade 9 and Ebtedayee levels are nearing completion with over 83% and 95% delivery respectively.
The delay is primarily attributed to a two-month setback in the printing process. After the government procurement committee cancelled initial tenders for Grades 6, 7, and 8, printing only commenced in November.
Prof. Riyad Chowdhury, an NCTB member, stated that efforts are underway to bridge the gap, with a target to complete all deliveries by January 15.
To mitigate the impact on learning, the NCTB has successfully delivered 100% of pre-primary and primary books (85.9 million copies) by mid-December.
Uploaded PDF versions of 647 textbooks in both Bangla and English to its official website for immediate digital access.
While students received books on the first day of the year in previous decades, this is the second consecutive year of delays, following the curriculum revisions of the past year.
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