Hundreds of Crores embezzled through low-quality paper textbooks

Amid widespread irregularities, a dishonest syndicate of printing press owners embezzled hundreds of crores of taka by printing 2025 academic textbooks on substandard paper. As a result of their misconduct, textbooks in some regions have already started falling apart less than five months into the academic year. Students are now struggling to use these fragile books for the rest of the year.

Despite this situation, the National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) is preparing to print poor-quality textbooks again for the 2026 academic year. The tender process for the new textbooks has already been amended. This time, the budget for textbook printing is set at Tk 1,600 crore.

According to sources, NCTB recently floated a tender for pre-primary books worth Tk 45 crore, which initially required web printing machines sized 22.75 and 33.5 inches. However, a later amendment changed the required machine sizes to 22 and 32 inches. Experts say these machine sizes are unsuitable for producing textbooks of the correct dimensions or quality, raising concerns that students will once again receive poor-quality books.

Investigations revealed that a dishonest group of press owners created a fund of several crores to secure the tender. They pressured the NCTB to amend the machine specifications. Since these are pre-primary textbooks, the NCTB consulted with the Directorate of Primary Education, which was reportedly influenced by financial incentives from the syndicate to support the amendment.

NCTB’s Production Controller Abu Naser Tuku said, “We initially specified machine sizes suitable for producing high-quality books, allowing three companies to qualify. Later, the ministry and the directorate instructed us to change the specifications to allow more companies to participate, so we amended the tender.”

It has been learned that Rabbanī Jabbar, owner of Ananda Printers, is the younger brother of a full minister from the fallen government and a former chairman of an Upazila in Netrokona. During that government's tenure, he monopolized textbook contracts and still wields significant influence. He was awarded more work than his capacity for the 2025 academic year. Due to complaints of poor quality, the NCTB had to discard 20,000 of his printed books. Yet, he remains a frontrunner for contracts this year as well. Despite a directive to step down, he retained his post as President of the Bangladesh Printing Association even after August 5. Several senior leaders in the association continue to back him. Attempts to reach Rabbanī Jabbar via phone and SMS were unsuccessful.

Recently, NCTB sent 32 inspection teams to all 64 districts. Through random sampling, they found that 33% of the books were of poor quality. Out of 400 million textbooks, 130 million were substandard, with issues in paper GSM, brightness, and binding. The corrupt syndicate used these substandard books to embezzle hundreds of crores.

To verify quality, NCTB appointed Hi-Tech Survey and Inspection Services, which collected samples from the field and tested them in a lab. Their report revealed that Letter N Color Ltd. produced the most substandard books, using 69 and 70 GSM paper instead of the required 80 GSM. Anupam Printers used 61 GSM instead of 70, Oxford Press & Publication used 73 GSM instead of 80, and The Goodluck used 71 GSM instead of 80.

Sheikh Sirajuddin, owner of Letter N Color Ltd., admitted, “We worked with both 70 and 80 GSM paper. There may have been some mix-ups with specific books. NCTB has sent us a notice, and we are replacing the faulty books.”

According to the Hi-Tech report, the following companies also used substandard paper:

• Shafin Press & Publication: 59 GSM instead of 70
• Subarna Printers: 55 GSM
• Aristocrats Security Printing & Packaging: 56 GSM
• Barnamala Press: 58 GSM
• National Printing Press: 63 GSM
• Barnamala (another batch): 60 GSM
• Doel Printers: 65.5 GSM
• Redwania Press & Publication: 65 GSM

NCTB Acting Chairman Prof. Robiul Kabir Chowdhury said, “We have already issued letters to 16 firms to replace their substandard books. If they fail to comply, we will deduct 20% from their security deposits. Such punitive actions are ongoing.”

Regarding the amendment to the 2026 pre-primary tender, he added, “We initially called for tenders with the correct machine sizes. However, 116 printing firms requested changes. To allow broader participation, the ministry and the directorate approved the amendment. We have instructed them to deliver books as per specifications. They claimed they could, which is why the amendment was made.”