Dhaka, Sept 22, 2025: The government on Sunday reaffirmed its commitment to distribute all school textbooks by January 1, despite past concerns about irregularities and poor quality.
After a meeting of the Advisers Council Committees on Government Purchase and Economic Affairs, Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed said printing orders for certain classes have already been placed.
He said the government is reviewing the list of recipient institutions to prevent irregularities. “We want to ensure schools that got books properly before get them again, but also check those accused of taking more than their share,” he told reporters.
The Finance Adviser, who chaired the meeting at the Secretariat, said the final list will be ready within two weeks. “Our target is clear—students must receive textbooks on time, by January 1,” he said.
Last year, new books were delayed until March. This year, the ministry started the process in September to avoid delays. Authorities are also checking paper quality and production to prevent substandard printing.
Dr Salehuddin also said the government decided to procure Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) vaccines in two phases, instead of a six-month supply as proposed by Unicef. The first three-month supply will come through Unicef, while competitive bidding will be explored for the next phase.
He added that the government has asked Unicef to lower its commission rate. Half of the required vaccines will be supplied immediately, while the rest will be decided later. However, details about source countries have not yet been sought.
Meanwhile, a proposal for printing and distributing free textbooks for the 2026 academic year was withdrawn from the agenda. It covered textbooks for Class IX students in secondary (Bangla and English versions), Dakhil, SSC and Dakhil Vocational, and Technical Trade Classes IX and X. The Secondary and Higher Education Division requested the withdrawal.
