Students of govt schools without books

Divya Sharma

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, September 23

Even after the passage of several months to the commencement of academic session, most of the government schools in the city are yet to receive books of certain subjects.

Students of sixth, seventh, eight and ninth standard are yet to receive books of several subjects, including the core subjects such as science and mathematics.

As per the system, with the commencement of new session, the Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) has to get the books printed so that the same can be supplied to the students under the Sarv Shikhsha Abhiyaan. The books for students of sixth to eighth standard are available free of cost. Students belonging to scheduled castes category get free books in ninth and tenth standard as well.

Hindi and science books haven’’t been distributed among Class VI students. Students of seventh standard haven’’t got the books of social science, maths and science. Class VIII students are yet to receive science books while those of Class IX haven’t got the social science books.

In a makeshift arrangement, most of the schools have asked last year students to give them books.

“Schools have provided the available books with them from the last batch. This is for the first time that something like this has happened,” said a teacher seeking anonymity.

Ashwani Awasthi, president, Democratic Teachers’ Front, Amritsar, said, “The union has been raising such issues for long. It is the failure of the last government to procure the printing paper in time and the lapse of the present state government to control the situation because of which the students are suffering. We do not want anything like this to happen next year.”

Attempts to establish contact with District Education Officer (secondary) Sunita Kiran failed.