Textbooks in time make students happy

BY SUSHMA MAHARJAN,Kathmandu, Apr. 21: Unlike in the past many years, the students of public schools across the country have received textbooks at the beginning of the academic session this year thanks to the efficient management of Janak Education Materials Centre (JEMC) Ltd. 

With the availability of the textbooks right from the beginning of the academic session, both teachers and parents have expected that the quality of school education will be better this year.

Chitra Acharya, spokesperson for JEMC, informed that they had already supplied textbooks to 60 out of 77 districts across the country including Kathmandu. He said that this year JEMC had prioritised the distribution of the textbooks in the hilly districts and remote areas first. 

“Distribution of the textbooks is now underway in the Terai districts,” he said. The JEMC has a target to supply the textbooks in all public schools of the Terai by April 28, he added. 

Academic session of this year began on Sunday (April 16). Due to the availability of the textbooks in time, the students will find it easier to study this year. 

In the past, the academic session in public schools was adversely affected in lack of the textbooks till the mid-session and even till the end of the session in the schools of the remote areas. 

According to Acharya, the centre has published 15 million copies of textbooks this year. The number of textbooks published this year is smaller than those published in the past year. The centre had published 20 million copies of textbook for the 2022 academic session. Despite publishing fewer textbooks, the centre has been able to distribute the books before the academic session began. It started distributing textbooks on April 3. 

However, the distribution of the textbooks became possible after JEMC had taken responsibility of all the necessary materials for printing books this year, said Acharya. He said that earlier the suppliers and bidders used to delay the supply of papers required for printing the textbooks. 

Meanwhile, students, guardians and teachers of remote areas have been happy for the academic 

session this year. Most of the students of the hilly districts had already got the textbooks. 

Khemraj Subedi, Education Officer of   Dhawalagiri Rural Municipality, said that the textbooks had reached all the schools, even in the remote areas of the municipality, and they had started distributing the textbooks. Shanta Nepali, head teacher   of   Gyan Prakash High School of Annapurna Rural Municipality-3, said that it had been easier for the school to carry out academic activities after the arrival of textbooks in time.  

Similarly, the textbooks   distribution   and   admission programme are now underway in all seven local levels of Jajarkot. "Textbooks arrived in our school on Sunday. We started distributing them to our students from Monday," said Pratap   Rokaya, headmaster of Bhagwati Secondary School in Ward No. 13 of Bheri Municipality in Jajarkot. 

However, the schools and teachers in Khotang have complained about unavailability of the books. Of the 493 community schools operating in the Khotang district, except Saraswati Secondary School in Diktel Bazaar, none have received textbooks so far, according to our Khotang correspondent. The New Shakya Book Centre at Ambagachi in Diktel Bazaar had taken the responsibility to supply textbooks required for 45 different community schools in the district. It has been found that only the textbooks of class 6 and above had arrived at the store, informed Rama Shakya, owner of the store. She said that the textbooks from grade 1 to 5 were in the process of being transported.

But in other districts, the local levels have already issued notice to the schools to collect the textbooks from the centre of the local levels at the earliest. Meanwhile, spokesperson Acharya said that the private companies had taken the responsibility of printing the textbooks of grade 4 and 5 this year and they are responsible for dispatching the textbooks for the new academic session.