The usual delay in printing and supply of textbooks for Bodo-medium schools in Assam by the Assam State Textbook Production and Publication Corporation Ltd — under the state elementary education department — is likely to ease for students pursuing studies in their mother tongue from the next academic session.

The department is taking all steps to complete textbook distribution within the second or third week of January which otherwise is delayed till March or April.

Reacting to the All Bodo Students’ Union’s (Absu) criticism for the delay, district elementary education officer, Udalguri, Bhaben Deuri, said this time the education department was trying to complete distribution of books for Bodo-medium students by the second or third week of January and the publishers had been intimated by the department.

He claimed that in Udalguri, 70 per cent of the textbooks were available for students of Classes I to VIII and 40 per cent of the textbooks for Classes IX and X.

Absu earlier voiced concern over the delay in supply of free textbooks to Bodo-medium students before the academic session. This time the session will start from January 1.

Absu education secretary Kastom Basumatary, in a press communiqué, said every year, unwarranted delay affect quality education for students pursuing their studies in their mother tongue. “Though the Assam government and its education department have been chest-thumping about improvement in quality of education in the government schools, such plight of students puts the government in bad light.”

Basumatary claimed that the four districts of Bodoland Territorial Areas District (BTAD) comprising Kokrajhar, Chirang, Baksa and Udalguri were running short of books and the students were yet to receive new books from the publishers.

He added that there was still only 60 per cent of the textbooks were available in Kokrajhar district, 25 per cent in Chirang, 41 per cent in Baksa and 40 per cent in Udalguri district.

The Gossaigaon education block in Kokrajhar district and Tihu-Barama education block in Baksa have not received a single textbook for the next academic session. The Assam government, however, has a scheme of free distribution of textbooks among students since 2016 to improve the enrolment of students in higher secondary schools.

Textbooks on arts, science, commerce and vocational streams are published in eight different languages for students of higher secondary level.