Hartals, blockades make timely textbook distribution uncertain

Printers cannot give delivery of textbooks due to hartals and blockades. Photo shows staff of a press at Kandir Par in Comilla city pile up books in storeroom. PHOTO: STAR

Distribution of all textbooks among the students of different educational institutions in the country on the first day of the academic year 2014 has become uncertain as delivery of the books is being hampered due to hartals and blockades.
Only 39.55 percent textbooks have arrived in Patuakhali until yesterday while the rest 60.45 percent got stuck in centre store in the capital, reports our correspondent.
District primary education (DPEO) office sources said they need 11, 98,821 pieces of new textbooks for distribution among the students (class one to class five) of around 1,200 primary schools, but only 4,15,,629  pieces of books have reached here from Dhaka till yesterday.
Transportation of new books is being hampered due to continuous blockade programme enforced by the opposition parties, said Md. Sohrab Hossain, an official at primary education office.
Md Zahid Hossain, assistant inspector at district education office, said they need 13,43,881 textbook for over 300 secondary schools in the district, but they have so far received 9,21,014 books.
Textbook supply for the new academic year at Dakhil madrasa level is very poor as only 74,000 books against the demand for 6, 50,000 for around 284 madrasas have arrived in the district so far, he added.
Students of different educational institutions may not get their new textbooks on the first day of school if blockade continues, said Md Ruhul Amin, district education officer.. 
Our Comilla correspondent adds: Book printers here can't supply textbooks to the central store in the capital due to frequent blockade. .
This year, Puthi Patra, Lucky Press, Sarker Book House, Jam Art Press, Bengal Art Press and some other publishers of the city have got orders for publishing textbooks. 
Though printing and binding of the books have been completed in time, delivery of them is being hampered due to blockades.
Md Ohidur Rahman, manager of Puthi Patra, said they have completed printing, binding and all other related works in time, but they cannot send the books to the authorities concerned due to opposition's road blockade programme. 
Md. Abdur Rashid Sarker, district secondary education officer, said 45, 29, 400 textbooks for secondary schools have arrived here so far against the demand for 53, 37,792 books. 
Bilkis Ara Begum, district primary education officer, said they need 43, 27, 931 books for the academic year 2014, but they have received 35, 49, 648 books as of Saturday.