Due to changes made to the syllabus under the New Education Policy, a severe shortage of new textbooks has emerged in the city’s schools. Despite the commencement of the new academic session, NCERT textbooks for classes 9, 10, and 12 have yet to reach the schools. Surprisingly, the Education Department has already disbursed approximately ₹3.5 crore for the books; however, at the ground level, students remain in limbo, still waiting for them. The impact is most pronounced in government schools, where a decision to provide free textbooks to students in grades 9 through 12 was implemented starting this year; yet, the failure of the books to arrive has thrown this entire scheme into jeopardy. Across the city’s 117 government schools, nearly 35,000 students are currently deprived of textbooks essential for their studies.
**PDFs and Notes Become the Lifeline**
Faced with the textbook shortage, teachers are now turning to online resources. In many schools, teachers are downloading PDFs from the NCERT website to conduct lessons, while in other instances, they are preparing their own study notes to teach students. The District Education Office has also issued directives to schools to provide photocopies of the first four chapters to students.
**The Impact of Delayed Decision-Making**
According to reports, the most significant changes to the new syllabus were introduced for Class 9. This decision was taken belatedly—during December and January—which prevented the timely printing of the textbooks and had a direct adverse effect on their supply.
**Private Schools Also Affected**
This issue is not confined solely to government schools; students in private schools are also finding that the new textbooks are not fully available in the open market. Consequently, many students have resorted to purchasing incomplete sets of books just to keep up with their coursework.
**New System Becomes a Source of Trouble**
Until last year, students in government schools would purchase their textbooks directly from the market, thereby avoiding such complications. However, the new system of free distribution introduced this year has become a source of trouble due to the failure to ensure timely supply.
**Hopes for a Speedy Resolution**
According to District Education Officer Devendra Kumar, the orders for the textbooks have already been placed, and the corresponding payments have also been processed. The Department is in constant contact with the NCERT, and the books are expected to reach schools within the next 10 to 15 days. For the time being, students and teachers are having to make do with temporary arrangements.
