Even as the school education department held official ceremonies at primary schools across the state to mark the beginning of the academic year on Monday,the newcomers of Classes I and II sat through their first day without any textbooks prescribed for the year ahead. Class II students of Marathi-medium schools also were confronted with the same situation,as most of their textbooks failed to reach the market before the school session started. School Education Minister Rajendra Darda,who was in the city to attend one such official ceremony arranged by his department at a civic body-run school in Yerawada,skirted medias query on the issue,maintaining that the textbooks would be made available soon. Gangadhar Mamhane,officiating director of Maharashtra State Bureau of Textbook Production and Curriculum Research (Balbharati) that is responsible for production of textbooks,said: The textbooks for the students of Classes I and II of both English- and Marathi-medium schools have been released from our end. I do not know why the textbooks are yet not unavailable in the market, he replied briefly. Balbharati had earlier said they received the content of the upgraded syllabi for Classes I and II very late and that had resulted in the delay in production of textbooks. The government reportedly approved the syllabi drafted by the Maharashtra State Council of Educational Research and Training only by May and then sent it to Balbharati for print. Activist Mateen Mujawar of Shikshan Hakka Manch said holding official ceremonies in the name of students without paying heed to their basic issues like availability of textbooks speaks poorly of the education system.
