Halfway through session, classes V and VIII students go without NCERT textbooks
Despite repeated assurances and advance payments by the education department, the books are yet to arrive in many schools, forcing teachers and students to rely on stopgap arrangements.
This delay is not new to the city's school system. In March-April 2024, parents and students in Chandigarh struggled to find NCERT books for Classes III and VI. There were no stocks in bookstores till mid April, 2024. This has been the pattern over successive years after the rollout of NEP-aligned content, leading to repeated disruptions in critical middle school grades.
The shortage is most severe in Classes V and VIII, which are part of the phased rollout of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020-aligned textbooks. In Class V, only English and Hindi books are currently available. Mathematics and Environmental Studies (EVS) are missing. In Class VIII, English textbook is available while Hindi and Science books are still awaited.
To make matters worse, several subjects, including Class VIII Sanskrit, Social Science for Class V, and Mathematics for Class VIII are not even available on official and online platforms, leaving schools with no access to revised content.
"It's July and we still don't have the new textbooks," said a government school teacher in the city. "For some subjects, we are using last year's books. For others, we're giving handwritten notes or projecting content from earlier versions." Parents too are growing anxious, saying that children are relying on digital content.
Harsuhinder Pal Singh Brar, director, school education, said that the government is aware of the delays and is working closely with NCERT to expedite delivery. "We are in constant touch with NCERT and advance payments have been done already. Text is being updated and that is why it takes time. We have book banks in schools and we see to it that students do not lose out on education," he said.
Officials have advised schools to make do with existing materials and digital content where possible.
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