The government has yet to distribute all textbooks for the 2025 academic year to students in classes one through ten.
Educational institutions have received only a minimal number of books this year. While some additional books were later supplied, most students still do not have textbooks.
Schools claim that the limited books they received have already been distributed and assure that any remaining books will be handed out as soon as they arrive.
However, free textbooks for all grades are readily available in various libraries in Dhaka's Nilkhet area.
Amid these allegations, the government began the crackdown on Wednesday, when intelligence agencies, supported by law enforcement, conducted raids in Nilkhet’s libraries.
During the operations, they discovered government-issued free textbooks in several establishments, including Chaina Book House, Mizi Book House, Boiyer Desh-2, and Mamun Book House.
The unauthorized sales were promptly halted, and the books seized. Each of the store owners was fined Tk1,000, and further raids are reportedly ongoing.
Situation in Nilkhet
On Monday afternoon, a visit to Nilkhet revealed that a syndicate reportedly purchases textbooks from Banglabazar and sells them to students at exorbitant prices.
People associated with Nilkhet’s libraries have alleged that Aziz Molla and Ujjal, two owners of libraries in Banglabazar, supply these books to Nilkhet’s libraries.
Textbooks for classes one through ten were being sold in libraries such as Meem Book House, Premier Book House, Arafat Book House, Shaheed Book Center, Book Line, and Arian Book Libraries.
These free government textbooks were being sold at high prices. Meem Book House was reportedly supplying books wholesale to other library owners, claiming the books were purchased from Banglabazar.
At Arafat Book House, the eighth-grade textbook “Sahitya Konika” was being sold for Tk250. No NCTB textbooks for any class were priced below Tk200.
When a customer requested a receipt, they were told that receipts for board-issued books are not provided.
The owner of Shaheed Book Center, Md Shahid, was selling ninth and tenth-grade Bangla textbooks for Tk250 and sixth-grade “Charupath” for Tk200.
When asked about the high prices, Shahid replied: "New books are more expensive and harder to sell."
When some books were unavailable at Arafat Book House and Shaheed Book Center, they directed customers to Meem Book House and Premier Book House for the complete collection.
A visit to Meem Book House before evening revealed that they had textbooks for all grades, from classes one to ten.
Saiful's younger brother, who manages the store, confirmed to a customer that they had all the books for this year.
The ninth and tenth-grade mathematics books were priced at Tk200, “English for Today” for Tk100, “English Grammar and Composition” for Tk150, and sixth-grade “Bangla Druto Path-Anondo Path” for Tk100.
At the same time, Rubel Book Corner was seen stocking and selling textbooks for various grades.
Premier Book House had textbooks for the ninth and tenth-grade science stream but lacked Bangla books. However, they assured a customer that all books would be available by January 20.
Many schools yet to get books
Meanwhile, investigations at various schools in the capital revealed that all books for classes one, two, and three, as well as Bangla, English, and mathematics books for class seven, were distributed on the first day of the year.
By Thursday, most schools confirmed receiving the remaining books for class seven.
However, other grade-level textbooks had not yet arrived at educational institutions.
Khairun Nahar Lipi, an assistant teacher at Mohammadpur Government Primary School, said: “We initially distributed all books for classes one, two, and three, as well as Bangla, English, and mathematics for class seven. Later, more class seven books were provided. So far, we’ve managed to distribute all books for these grades.”
Asked how Nilkhet could have all the books when schools could not, NCTB authorities blamed unscrupulous printing press owners.
NCTB Chairman Professor Dr AKM Riazul Hasan said: “This is the work of dishonest printers.”
When asked if action would be taken against these individuals, the chairman said: “Steps have already been initiated. Various intelligence agencies are conducting raids. The printers have been summoned and reprimanded. The culprits will face penalties.”
Attempts to contact Aziz Molla, owner of Aziz Book House, for comments on allegations of supplying books from Banglabazar were unsuccessful.
Despite repeated phone calls, he did not answer.
Similarly, Ujjal, another library owner implicated in the allegations, initially stated he would speak after 10 minutes but later did not respond.
Meanwhile, Education Adviser Wahiduddin Mahmud assured reporters at the Planning Commission on Monday that all students would receive their textbooks by February.