NCTB yet to pay printers Tk 1.04b for school textbooks

The National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) is yet to pay Tk 1.04 billion to printers who delivered books for 2014 on time amid restive political situations. The government organised textbook festival on the first day of the new year to mark the occasion.  
Around 400 local printers got 90 per cent work orders for printing text books for about 37.4 million students of primary, secondary, Ebtedayee, Dakhil and vocational institutions.
The rest 10 per cent books were printed in India and the money has been paid long ago.
"Some of our printers have been waiting for one month to two and three months for the payment of their bills. We have been pursuing NCTB for payment but they have not been paying," General Secretary of Bangladesh Mudron Shilpa Samity AFM Shah Alam told The Financial Express Thursday.
"Following several calls to pay, at last the printers' association has issued ultimatum to the NCTB to pay the due bills by February 23," he said adding that if they do not pay the association would go for tougher movement.
A total of 114 million new books were distributed among 23 million primary school students, 137.5 million books among the junior grade school students while 46 million books among 4.7 million students of the Ebtedayee, Dakhil and vocational institutions.
Inaugurating the book festival at Government Laboratory High School in the capital on January 02 the then Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid said the country has achieved another world record through distributing around 300 million pieces of the books to the students free of cost.    
Earlier, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina formally inaugurated the textbook festival on January 1 through distributing some books to a number of students.
Shah Alam said printers paid 3 to 4 times higher transport fares to distribute the books across the country in November and December amid restive political situation.
He said government provides the printers with paper to print the books for primary and secondary students. But printers have to pay the cost of paper on their own for 4.7 million students of Ebtedayee and Dakhil and vocational institutions.
NCTB Chairman Prof M Shafiqur Rahman said of the total bill of Tk 4.16 billion, Tk 3.12 was paid to the printing houses.
Admitting unusual delay this year, he said "The bill of Tk 1.0 billion is now at the Finance Ministry for approval. After Finance Ministry's approval, NCTB would pay the bill", he added.