Withdraw Thursday\\\'s hartal: Nahid

Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid has urged the Jamaat-e-Islami to withdraw Thursday’s hartal considering the interest of 45 million school-going students as free textbook distribution among them begins tomorrow (January 1). The minister came up with the request while talking to reporters at his ministry on Wednesday. This year, the government will distribute 320.63 million copies of textbooks among about 45 million primary and secondary-level students for 2015 academic sessions, said the minister. ‘Like previous years, the Textbook Festival 2015 will be celebrated across the country on January 1, marking the distribution of new textbooks among students,’ Nahid said. The Education Minister asked the Jamaat to withdraw the hartal for security reasons of the students. Despite Jamaat’s daylong hartal for the second consecutive day on Thursday, the Textbook Festival 2015 will be celebrated across the country that day and the new books will go to students, Nahid added, according to a news agency.