Textbook crisis looms afresh
Barely two months remaining of the current academic session, the Janak Shiksha Samagri Kendra (JSSK) is yet to publish some 7 million units of school books. Considering delayed circulation of the textbooks resulting from a probable delayed printing, public school students in remote areas of the country in particular are likely to face a textbook shortage even this year.
The JSSK, the sole authority for publishing books for the Central, Mid-Western and Far-Western Development Regions, had set a target of printing 21.3 million units this year. However, it revised the target to 19.7 million after the government decided to continue with the old syllabus for Grade Six. “We had expected to sell 3.4 million books for class six alone but the number was reduced by half after the Department of Education decided not to implement the new syllabus,” said Arjun Bilas Pant, publication department chief at the JSSK. Normally, sales soar when there is a syllabus change.
Five months since the printing work started, 12.7 million books, including those in stock, are ready for shipment but around 7 million are yet to be readied. If printing retains the current pace, it is likely that books will fall short by 2 million when the new session starts. However, JSSK officials claim the target will be met by doubling daily production. The JSSK has to increase its daily production to more than 100,000 units to meet the target, which seems unlikely.
“Keeping an eye on the target, we are operating the press 12 hours a day. We can publish 100,000 units per day when needed,” Pant added. Contrary to Panta’s claim, press workers say the JSSK cannot produce more than 80,000 units per day as its four printing presses are out of order.
State Minister for Education Lila Bhandari, who regularly visits the JSSK to press for timely publication, said Director General Ram Chandra Silwal has assured her to meet the target on time at any cost. “Silwal said he will increase the daily output to 100,000 units,” Bhandari said. “However, workers say it’s not possible.”
She added that the JSSK authority will be held accountable in case the target is not met.
Posted on: 2012-02-07 07:58
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