Textbook Festival Day was celebrated across the country yesterday with school students receiving their sets of textbooks for their new classes in the country’s schools and madrasas on the first day of the New Year.
Nearly 333.8 million copies of textbooks were distributed among more than 44.4 million students of pre-primary, primary, ebtedayee, secondary, dakhil and technical schools for 2016 academic year, according to officials at the Ministry of Education.
There was a festive mood everywhere and school authorities arranged ceremonies in their compounds to distribute the books among students.
Addressing the event at Government Laboratory School in Dhaka, Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid said the festival was the outcome of the government’s sincere commitment to get the books in the hands of every school student on the first day of the year.
Students were seen excitedly waiting to collect their textbooks for the new class.
“I am very happy; it feels wonderful,” said Zakia Zahan Joya, a ninth-grader at Azimpur Girls’ School. Her excitement was echoed by her fellow students in her school as well as students in every other school in Dhaka.
The education minister distributed the textbooks among students of six schools in the same area as Government Laboratory School. He was joined by Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Director General Prof Fahima Khatun, National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) Chairman Prof Narayan Chandra Pal, senior officials of the ministry and teachers.
Earlier, Nahid said Bangladesh had set a rare example in the world through the distribution of free textbooks among a large number of students at the start of an academic year.
“In the past seven years, Bangladesh has also made significant progress in education fulfilling different global targets including achieving gender parity in education before scheduled time.
He said access to textbooks free of cost has significantly contributed to reducing student dropout rate as well.
Primary and Mass Education Minister Mostafizur Rahman distributed books among the students in Mirpur National Bangla Government Primary School.
Earlier on Thursday, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina formally opened the distribution of free textbooks among students through giving books to some students of different schools and madrasas at a simple ceremony at her official residence Ganabhaban.
In a similar programme at Sara Maroari Model School and College in Ishwardi upazila of Pabna district, Land Minister Shamsur Rahman Sharif yesterday urged parents, teachers and the well-off citizens of the country to groom the students to become the architects of Shonar Bangla, as was dreamed by Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
Speaking as a chief guest during the free textbook distribution programme, Shamsur also urged the students to attend their classes regularly.
State Minister for Health and Family Welfare Zahid Malek distributed books among students in some schools including Manikganj SK Government Girls’ High School in Manikganj town.
Divisional Commissioner Muhammad Dilwar Bakht formally launched the ceremony in Rangpur distributing new textbooks at Jummapara Government Primary School.
According to Ministry of Education sources, a total 6,577,154 books were distributed among 3,373,373 pre-primary students, while 108,719,99 textbooks of 33 subjects were given to 24,571,731 primary students.
Meanwhile, 2,703,984 ebtedayee students received 19,255,615 textbooks of 36 subjects, 11,236,018 secondary students received 163,004,373 textbooks, 187,153 SSC vocation students received 2,271,836 textbooks, and 33,933,797 textbooks were distributed among dakhil and dakhil vocational students.
In 2010, the government began distributing free textbooks among students of secondary schools. The free distribution of books among the primary school students began in 1981.