THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Students in state syllabus schools may not receive the entire set of their first-volume textbooks when schools reopen on June 1, if the current pace of printing and binding work is any indication. Delays caused primarily by shortage of paper are set to disrupt what had otherwise become a largely timely textbook distribution process in recent years.
According to sources in Kerala Books and Publications Society (KBPS), only 79 lakh out of the 3.5 crore first-volume textbooks were printed when outgoing General Education Minister V Sivankutty assured in mid-February that all first-volume textbooks would reach schools before June 1.
“Though nearly two-thirds of the 3.5 crore first-volume textbooks have been printed by now, the binding work has remained stalled for the past few weeks due to shortage of paper to print the cover pages,” said a leader of an employees’ union in KBPS. With the deadline fast approaching, employees expressed doubts over whether the entire exercise could be completed in the next three weeks.
Given the massive number of textbooks required across the state, the government-owned KBPS prints them in two volumes. This year, the government placed an indent for 3.5 crore Volume I textbooks and 1.9 crore Volume II textbooks for Classes I to X.
Meanwhile, KBPS Managing Director Sunil Chacko told TNIE that the temporarily stalled binding work would resume soon, as the supply of the required paper is expected shortly.
“The printing of the main titles is almost complete. Activity books, which account for around 20% of the total, will be required by schools only by August. Therefore, the entire Volume I printing process will be completed by the end of this month,” he said.
The government had inaugurated the distribution of the first batch of printed textbooks well ahead of the assembly election.
Delays in textbook printing and distribution had once drawn severe criticism, particularly during the tenure of the previous UDF government.
The process, however, had largely returned to normal after two years of Covid-related disruptions.
In the 2024-25 academic year, 3.53 crore textbooks reached students by the last week of May.
In the previous academic year as well, textbooks had reached schools before reopening day despite the print order increasing to 3.94 crore copies.