Shortage of textbooks

Several bookstores in the city have put up boards citing the unavailability of state syllabus textbooks. Many schools across the state have reopened and the children are attending school without textbooks. Concerned parents from across the city are said to be lining up at bookstores.

To quote Bhanumathi.B. a parent ; her daughter studies in a Central Board of Secondary Education School. She has recieved all her textbooks except the Kannada textbook, which is of state syllabus. We were told by the school that there is a shortage. She has visited various bookstores only to be sent back without a copy'.

M.N.Baig, Director of the Directorate of Secondary Education Research and Training said that the stocks that were released in the open market were exhausted. They had been putting pressure on the printers to open more outlets and ensure there is enough stock, he is purported to have said.

Kumar G.Naik, Commissioner, Department of Public Instruction, said that the students of all government schools and grant-aid-schools had recieved their textbooks. 'These students form around 80 to 85 percent of the total student strength in the state. The problem is with the unavailability of textbooks in the open market for the students of private schools' he said.

Meanwhile, a senior official in the department said that the unhealthy nexus between the sellers and printers was the major cause behind the short supply.

Mr. Naik also said that the department was continously monitoring the situation and would ensure that the textbooks are available in a week's time.