The air was festive in the primary, junior secondary and secondary schools around the country yesterday as students received their textbooks for the 2015 academic year.
The first day of the new year was especially excited for the school-goers as they received their free books despite the dawn-to-dusk hartal imposed by Jamaat-e-Islami.
A total of 326,347,923 textbooks were distributed, free of cost, among 44,452,374 school, madrasa and vocational students this year, the BSS reported.
In Barisal, the authorities started distributing around 18 million copies of textbooks among around 1.8 million students in the schools and madrasas across the division yesterday morning.
Barisal Divisional Commissioner Dr Gaus inaugurated the distribution at Binapani Model Primary School and Government High School auditorium in the morning.
However, many teachers and students claimed that the number of textbooks supplied for yesterday's distribution did not meet the total demand.
The total copies of secondary-level textbooks required in the division is 11,496,000, and the current stock of textbooks can cover only 90% of the demand, said Dr Mustafizur Rahman, divisional deputy director at the Barisal office of the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education.
Supply of the rest of the textbooks were delayed by the hartal, claimed sources at the Directorate of Primary Education's Barisal office, while the teachers and students alleged that the books were still in press.
Mahbub Elahi, deputy director of Barisal DPE, assured that the remaining books would be distributed within next week.
In Barguna, around 300,000 primary and secondary students in the district received around 2.24 million textbooks yesterday.
Barguna Deputy Commissioner Meer Zahurul Islam inaugurated the distribution at Barguna Government Girls' High School and Barguna Zilla School.
Addressing the inauguration ceremony, the deputy commissioner said receiving the textbooks before the classes will motivate the students to work hard.
In Bhola, a total of 3,066,995 copies of textbook were distributed among the district's primary and secondary-level students.
Bhola Deputy Commissioner Md Selim Reza inaugurated the textbook festival in Bhola Government Boys' High School, Bhola Government Girls' High School, an Char Jangla Model Government Primary School.
In Daulatkhan upazila, the festival was inaugurated by Upazila Parishad Chairman Manjur Alam Khan. The inauguration was followed by a prize ceremony for extraordinary results and a cultural programme.
In Chapainawabganj, the textbook distribution was inaugurated by the district's Deputy Commissioner Jahangir Kabir at Model Government Primary School.
Addressing the ceremony as chief guest, Jahangir said education was the key to rid the country of poverty.
“The government is working to modernise the education system of the country. Getting the textbooks in the hands of the students before the term starts is a big achievement,” he said.
In Khagrachhari, the textbook festival was inaugurated at Khagrachhari Government Primary School, organised by the District Primary Education office with the assistance of Khagrachhari municipality. A total of 441,043 textbooks were distributed in 823 primary schools in the district.
After collecting their books, Class-V students Abida Sultana, Paisanu Marma and Nusrat Jahan said: “We are very happy about the books and will use them with care.”
Speaking at the ceremony, chief guest Kujendra Lal Tripura, a lawmaker from the district, said the government has set a remarkable example by delivering textbooks to even the remote areas of the country on the first day of the year.
In Kishoreganj, 2,573,688 new textbooks were distributed among 567,900 primary-level students in the district.
In Kurigram, around 500,000 students across the district were going to get around six million textbooks this year.
In Naogaon, textbook distribution started around 11am at Naogaon Zilla School, inaugurated by Naogaon Sadar lawmaker Md Abdul Malek.
In Panchagarh, students were excited to receive new textbooks and enjoyed the winter morning by waiting for them.
Around 270,000 student in the district's five upazilas received around two million textbooks.
In Sherpur, around 267,536 primary students received 1,240,886 textbooks.
In Thakurgaon, Deputy Commissioner Mukesh Chandra Biswas distributed around 3.1 million primary textbooks at Collectorate Public School and College.
