The National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) has printed 6.64 crore books for free distribution among some 1.77 crore students in the current academic year and the distribution began on January 7.

Defying the government ban, traders in connivance with a section of primary school teachers and officials are engaged in open sale of these books. Law enforcers do nothing about it as they share substantial amounts of money from the illegal trade, it is widely alleged.

Students and guardians say many primary schools in the capital did not at all distribute free books and many others did it partly, forcing them to buy the books.

"A syndicate of unscrupulous primary school teachers and officials sell out the books to traders, depriving students of their books," a bookstore owner said.

The books are available for sale at Bangla Bazar wholesale market, Nilkhet book market and at bookstores at Maghbazar, Shantinagar, Mirpur, Uttara and many other areas.

Most of the government and non-government primary schools in Uttara distributed only a few books and asked students to collect the rest on their own.

"I had to buy five books for my son, a student of Class Three, for Tk 300," said Jalal Khan, a resident of the area.

Many others made similar allegations.

Traders charge inflated prices for these books as there is no price tag on them.

"It has in fact, become a convention that new books are distributed among students of classes one, two and three and students of classes four and five receive 50 per cent new books and the other half old ones," said an aggrieved guardian.

Sources pointed out that the illegal trade has been going on for years and no steps by the NCTB or the education ministry has been taken to stop this practice.