PESHAWAR, Sept 28: The intermediate Part-I students of many government schools in Peshawar have been awaiting provision of free textbooks of different subjects even a month after the start of the academic year.

Poor coordination between the school headmasters and the officials tasked with distributing textbooks are to blame, according to those in the know.

The relevant officials said normally, headmasters placed a demand for 70 per cent of the required books and met the rest by securing books from students promoted to the next classes.

They said this time around, too, headmasters demanded 70 per cent of the required intermediate Part-I books without knowing that there’re changes in the books for the academic year beginning in Sept 2013.

The officials said ‘over enrolment’ of students in government schools was another reason for shortage of books.

A principal of the government higher secondary school told Dawn that mathematics, chemistry, physics, biology, economics, civics, English and Urdu textbooks of intermediate Part-I were in short supply.

He said the entire course had undergone a change and therefore, old books were of no use anymore.

The principal said he had demanded 70 per cent books of the required books, which he had distributed to students.

He said he was unaware of the changes in books. “Now, I am in constant contact with principals of other schools to secure the surplus books,” he said. The principal said he had also placed an additional demand for books to the relevant officials, but to no avail due to the end of the stock. He said all headmasters should have been informed about changes in the books beforehand.

Another school’s teacher said his students had been without free English and physics books. He said a fresh demand for books had been placed with the officials but it had yet to be met.

A senior official at the District Education Office in Peshawar told Dawn that he had informed headmasters in different meeting about changes in textbooks. He said he had asked all headmasters to make the actual demand instead of following the practice of demanding 70 per cent books.

He blamed shortage of books on the negligence of headmasters, who, he said, didn’t bother to keep themselves updated on the development in the education department.

An official at the free textbooks distribution centre established at Government Higher Secondary School City No 1 for secondary school said only economics, statistics and library science books of intermediate Part-I were available with the centre, while the rest had been distributed to schools in line with their demands.

When asked about the status of additional demands of books as claimed by the headmasters, he said he had not received additional demands from schools.

When contacted, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Textbook Board Chairman Dr Himayatullah said textbooks were provided to students of government schools up to the intermediate level free of charge and that they were available with the board in large quantity.

“If the department makes additional demand for books, we can meet it within a few minutes,” he said.

Dr Himayatullah said the education department often made additional demand for books and the board fulfilled that immediately.