Textbook board fails to provide books again

“The problem is not new. Citing some reason or the other, every year textbooks of different medium and classes are being delayed by the state textbook board. It is surprising how, despite its repeated failures to provide books, no proper system has been put in place. This attitude of the board reflects non-seriousness on their part,” said the Gujarat Booksellers and Stationers Association president Naresh Shah.

Shifting the blame for this delay on other departments, the textbook board officials claimed that they were not provided a correct list of requirement of textbooks.

“Textbooks are provided, depending on the requirement list sent from the director of Primary Education, which provided an incorrect list to the textbook board. This was later realised and now replaced with a supplementary list. Now, the process of dispatching books is in progress and soon these would reach concerned schools and shopkeepers,” said Director of Gujarat State School Textbook Board (GSSTB) Bharat Pandit.

The booksellers also claimed that despite repeated reminders and meetings, the board failed to print and distribute books on time. “The books are to be distributed during the vacation. Since now, books for any subject from Class I to V are available in the market, we have to send parents back. We have no answer when parents ask us when these books will be available,” Naresh Shah said.