Session in progress, primary students yet to get textbooks in Faridabad district

Tribune News Service

Bijendra Ahlawat

Faridabad, April 22

The new academic session is already on but students enrolled in government primary schools in the district are yet to get books. This has adversely affected the pace of studies in primary classes.

No date announced

No concrete date has been announced despite parents contacting the school authorities several times. The books are made available through schools only. Pramod Kumar, parent

Students and their parents have been running from pillar to post to procure books that have not been made available despite the academic session starting from April 1, said sources in the district education department.

While the books are supplied by the Education Department under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) directly to the schools, the students enrolled from Class I to V get cash allowance of Rs 100 every month for procurement of stationery like copies, pencils and dress. The money for this purpose is directly deposited into the bank account of such students.

“No concrete date has been announced despite parents contacting the school authorities several times. The books are made available through schools only,” said Pramod Kumar, a parent.

“We are getting queries from parents daily about when the books will be provided,” said a teacher of a government primary school here. He claimed that students had failed to get books last year due to the pandemic. But the delay in getting the supply of books this year is confounding as offline classes have started after a gap of two years.

Teaching is mainly dependent on old books procured through students who have moved to the next class or those left in stock, he said.

He said one book was circulated among several students. The problem is also being faced by students enrolled from Class VI to VIII also. The district has around 90,000 primary students enrolled in 235 government schools.

“The issue has been brought to the notice of higher authorities,” said an official.

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