Dailynewsun Desk:
On the very first day of the year 2021, like previous years, textbook distribution activities were started among the students from class sixth to nine on the first day of the New Year.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the free textbook distribution through a videoconferencing from her official residence Ganabhaban on Thursday reports BSS.
The book distribution ceremony was held at Bangabandhu International Conference Center (BICC) in the city.
Despite the coronavirus pandemic, the government has already taken all-out measures to distribute new textbooks among 4.5 crore students of the primary and secondary levels free of cost on the first day of the New Year.
The textbook this year however will not be distributed by holding book festivals like every year due to the coronavirus.
The books will be handed over among the students at their respective educational institutions in 12 days to avoid any kind of gathering.
Earlier, Chairman of the National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) Professor Narayan Chandra Saha told BSS that generally, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurates the book festival by handing over new books to students at Ganabhaban every year.
“But this time, the premier will formally inaugurate the textbook distribution through a videoconferencing from Ganabhaban on December 31, 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic,” he said.
Later, the books will be distributed among the students in educational institutions across the country on the next day (January 1, 2021), Professor Saha added.
On the occasion of the ‘Mujib Year’, novelty has been brought on the cover of the books this time, he said.
Still images of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, independence, great Liberation War, Language Movement and various development projects of the present government have been printed with captions on the back page of the textbooks, he continued.
The NCTB chairman said cent percent of primary books have already been printed while more than 85 percent of secondary books have been printed so far.
The books have already been reached to the schools across the country, he said.
Awami League government has been celebrating ‘book festival’ on January 1 every year in a festive atmosphere since 2010 with the aim of elevating education standard and preventing dropout rates.
In the last ten years since 2010, about 331.47 crore primary and secondary books have been distributed across the country. -BSS
