Hyderabad: Though state-government affiliated private schools reopened on June 12 after the summer vacation, the textbooks that are supposed to be bought are still not available in the market. Free textbooks meant for students in government schools have, however, been released. Classes in private schools are yet to begin as there no textbooks
The TS government has made it mandatory for all private schools to use only government textbooks from this year from Class I to X. It has threatened to cancel their recognition if they follow private books. This has left private schools with no option but to look for government books in the market, which are not available till date.
Few textbooks are available for students from Class VII to X, but textbooks for Classes I to VI are not available. The government has handed over the responsibility of printing and distribution of textbooks to private publishers who failed to deliver the books on time, despite taking orders from bookshops and collecting the amounts in May.
“I have been visiting bookshops in Sultan Bazar, Koti, Abids, Himayathnagar, Habsiguda etc. for the last two weeks to buy textbooks for my kids of Class III and V. But they are not available anywhere. Shop owners are unable to explain when the stocks will come. My kids are simply going to school and coming back without any books,” said V. Sandhya, a resident of Barkatpura.
K. Sreeram, a bookshop owner in Esamia Bazar, Koti, said, “There is a huge demand for books with the schools reopening, but we have no stocks. The private publishers are yet to supply books and they are saying that it may take two more weeks.”
When contacted, director of Government Textbook Press, B. Sudhakar, said, “Private publishers have been directed to speed up the distribution of textbooks. There was some delay in printing of books due to change in syllabus in TS in Telugu and Social. There is no problem with books from Class VI to X. The books for Classes I to V will also be supplied immediately and respective DEOs have been asked to take steps in this regard.”
President of TS Private School Managements’ Association, S. Sreenivas Reddy, said, “The government told us to follow only government books from this year for Class I to V without ensuring supply. We are not in a position to take classes.”
