The Hindu : Karnataka / Mangalore News : Here, students have everything but textbooks

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, May 31, 2005

Karnataka

Karnataka - Mangalore

Here, students have everything but textbooks

Staff Correspondent

Problem being faced only by students of private schools in Dakshina Kannada

MANGALORE: The academic year 2005-06 is likely to begin on a sad note for at least 1.23 lakh children in Mangalore city as they will have to attend school without textbooks. The scene is no different in five others taluks of Dakshina Kannada district.

While most children have new uniforms, schoolbags, lunchboxes and water bottles, apart from colourful raincoats and umbrellas, they don't have textbooks. The reason for this, according to owners of stationery shops, is that there is no supply of textbooks. Every day, parents line up in front of stationery shops for books in vain. All this has made children dread the prospect of going to school without textbooks and facing the wrath of their teachers.

Mohan Shenoy, president of the South Kanara Booksellers' and Publishers' Association, admits that the situation is alarming as only a few textbooks have been received for different classes. This situation is being faced only by students of private schools as free books have been issued in government schools.

Sukumar, secretary of the association, told The Hindu that the Directorate of Textbooks has stipulated that textbooks be printed in paper of a certain quality with watermark. Only Mysore Paper Mills (MPM) supplies the paper which meets the specifications, to printers and publishers in the State. He notes that MPM is not in a position to meet the enormous demand. As a result, many printers who placed orders late for the paper have not able to supply copies of the textbooks on time to retail outlets.

Mr. Sukumar points out that the Government has asked printers and publishers to first clear the order for free textbooks as it does not want last year's situation to repeat when students in government schools got textbooks only around December. Following this, the requirement of private schools has been sidelined, which has resulted in the crisis. Mohandas Bhandary of School Book Company admits that his company is finding it difficult to supply textbooks. Of the over 300 titles only 20 have been received so far and, according to sources in the printing and publishing industry, it might take not less than 15 to 20 days for all textbooks to arrive.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Karnataka

News Update

Stories in this Section

BJP members stage rail roko

Here, students have everything but textbooks

Three held in Mangalore, revolver seized

MCC ready for monsoon works

Land for dargah opposed

CET pre-counselling session on Friday

CET results on Reliance phones

In Mangalore Today