The National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) has expressed confidence that quality textbooks will be delivered to all students across the country within the scheduled time.
The assurance came on Thursday, 20 November, following an inter-ministerial meeting held at the Ministry of Education, chaired by the secretary of the Secondary and Higher Education Division.
The meeting was attended by officials from the Secondary and Higher Education Division, NCTB representatives, delegates from the Technical and Madrasah Education Division, representatives from the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education, the Directorate of Madrasah Education, the Directorate of Technical Education, the Directorate of Primary Education, the Education Engineering Department, the Power Division, and owners of printing presses.
During the meeting, participants reviewed progress on issues raised in earlier consultation sessions and discussed initiatives taken to resolve them. Printing press owners were assured of swift payment for previously supplied textbooks. Discussions also included ensuring uninterrupted electricity supply, strengthening security measures for transporting and storing books, involving local administration in the distribution process, enabling field-level offices to receive textbooks even on weekly holidays, and requiring printing institutions to notify designated officials before sending books to the field level. A decision was also taken to ensure sufficient storage space for the textbooks.
Printing press owners pledged to ensure the supply of quality textbooks at the beginning of the academic year.
NCTB stated that with coordinated efforts from all stakeholders, it remains optimistic about delivering quality textbooks to every student on time. The board emphasized that ensuring timely distribution of high-quality textbooks for primary and secondary levels is its top priority. NCTB continues to conduct strict, regular monitoring across all stages of printing, binding, and distribution.
In line with this commitment, preparations for printing and binding textbooks for the 2026 academic year are underway under the overall guidance of the Ministry of Education. To ensure quality, monitoring is being carried out not only by NCTB’s internal teams but also by an independent inspection firm (PDI) and a special monitoring team from the Secondary and Higher Education Division. Continuous coordination with press owners is being maintained.
Recently, the education adviser met with printing press owners at an exchange meeting held at the NCTB auditorium. Press owners highlighted several challenges and requested their resolution, noting that addressing these barriers would further streamline printing, binding, and supply processes, ensuring timely delivery of textbooks.
To address these issues, the education adviser also held a virtual meeting on 18 November with more than one thousand officials from district and upazila levels of the primary and secondary education sectors, providing them with necessary directives for strengthening field-level operations.
