Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: Janak Education Materials Centre Limited (JEMCL) has said that 90% of school textbooks for the new academic session have already been printed.
Amid growing concerns that there will be a delay in printing and supply of textbooks for the new academic session due to the need to print ballot papers for the House of Representatives elections scheduled for March 5, Til Bahadur Adhikari, deputy director at the Production and Distribution Directorate of the Center, said ballot printing did not obstruct textbook production.
“We completed printing ballot papers on Tuesday. Since we were printing textbooks and ballot papers simultaneously, it did not affect textbook production,” Adhikari said. “We made plans right after the election date was finalized in September. We had separate machines to print ballots and textbooks.”
According to Adhikari, textbooks for Grades 2 and 4 are printed by the private sector, while the Center prints textbooks for Grades 3 and 5 through 12. Other important tasks are also being carried out simultaneously at the Centre’s Security Press, he added.
“Since we were printing textbooks and ballot papers simultaneously, it did not affect textbook production.”
“Question papers for the MD program under the Medical Education Commission, Teacher Service Commission examinations, and the Council for Technical Education and Vocational Training (CTEVT) examinations are also being printed here. All three tasks are underway at the same time,” he added.
Adhikari claimed that there were no textbook shortages last year and said there would be none this year either. “We have already called for notices for renewal and listing for book sales. Textbooks produced at the main office in Bhaktapur are being transported to provincial offices,” he said. “The remaining 10% of textbooks will be printed and distributed by mid-March.
The new academic session for Grades 1 to 10 begins in mid-April. The government distributes school-level textbooks free of cost. According to Adhikari, 15 million textbooks will be printed and distributed this year. “Textbooks will reach schools before the academic session begins,” he said.
