The Divisional Primary Education Office has reported that only 49% of primary and 8.8% of secondary textbooks have been delivered till now in Barisal.
Only 40% of primary school students up to class three have received their textbooks, while just 5% of students in classes four and five have received theirs.
In some areas, only a small number of books have been delivered, while in many others, students have not received any books at all.
Nilufar Yasmin, Deputy Director of the Divisional Primary Education Office, said that some books are arriving and the remaining books will be delivered promptly.
She assured that any shortages will be resolved within a few days.
According to data from the Divisional Primary Education Office, the total number of students across 6,244 primary schools in the division is 7,27,487.
The total demand for books stands at 4,862,561, but only 2,366,189 have been distributed so far, leaving a shortage of 2,496,382.
Despite books being distributed from government warehouses, the percentage of students actually receiving them remains significantly lower.
Archana Banik, headmistress of Ashwini Kumar Primary School in Batajor, reported that her school, which has 250 students, received all the books for classes one through four but none for class five.
Similarly, Mintu Kumar Kar, a teacher at Matri Mandir Government Primary School, said he received and distributed books for classes one through five.
Kamrul Islam, headmaster of Government Shaheed Arju Moni Girls Secondary School in Barisal city, mentioned that out of 950 students, the school received six out of six books for class three, three out of ten books for class six, two out of ten books for class seven and only three books for class ten.
Students and guardians have also expressed their frustrations.
Joy Roy, a fifth-grade student at Binapani School in the city, said that he has not received a single book.
A parent of a fifth-grade student at Halima Khatun School also shared that their child had not received any textbooks.
Another student, Shaswati Gupta, a seventh-grade student at Halima Khatun Secondary School, said she has received only one English textbook and one Bengali textbook.
At the secondary level, the situation is even worse.
Mohammad Jahangir Hossain, Deputy Director of the Divisional Secondary and Higher Education Department, said that books are arriving daily and the demand is being addressed as quickly as possible.
However, the shortage remains significant.
As per the data from the Secondary and Higher Education Office, there are 15,72,068 students across 3,246 educational institutions in the division.
The total demand for books at this level is 17,542,063, but only 15,44,000 books have been distributed so far.
