Printing and bindery workers engaged in works at the Government Textbook Press, Khairatabad, in Hyderabad on Monday ahead of the fast-approaching reopening date for schools.
| Photo Credit: RAMAKRISHNA G.
The School Education department has so far transported about 80% of the total new textbooks, hot off the press, to district units for further distribution to government schools located in mandals and villages. As against the total enrolment, the department, for the academic year 2023-24, has marked a requirement of 1.90 crore new textbooks as free-component distribution.
According to officials, the distribution of bilingual textbooks is divided into two phases. For phase one of about 1.43 crore books, the dispatched figure as of Monday stood at about 1.14 crore or an average of 80% for the 33 districts. The remaining would be achieved by the end of the month.
The highest enrolment was witnessed in the districts of Rangareddy (1,73,290), Hyderabad, Sangareddy, Nizamabad, and Nalgonda, in that order. The lowest was in Jayashankar Bhupalapally (26,702).
Speaking to The Hindudirector of Telangana Government Textbook Press S. Sreenivasa Chary said phase two distribution will begin in August. Since the textbook content is bilingual in nature, thereby increasing the overall volume and weight of the book, part two of the same textbook will be delivered in August and well in advance for the first summative test in October. Part two in the phase two distribution of textbooks is about 47 lakh.
In all, 59 printers with some 100 machines were engaged for the publishing work, he said.
Each page at 57 paise
Textbooks for private schools will be in stock at book centres and stationers starting June 1. As per the tender this year, the government has arrived at a price of 57 paise per page for the printer, and it includes the material and the process to make one textbook. For instance, a 100-page textbook would cost ₹57.
Meanwhile, printers and publishers at the government’s press in Khairatabad are racing against time and are in the final leg of their work — printing, binding and stacking the textbooks, and ready for transportation.
