KHYBER: The officials of education department in Khyber tribal district claimed to have distributed free textbooks among more than 90 per cent students of primary school during the last three days.

They said that the process of distribution of free textbooks among the students of primary schools in Bara, Jamrud and Landi Kotal was started on May 21 that was completed on Thursday.

Officials said that students were provided with both new and used textbooks as they were short of the required quantity of new books owing to delay in their printing and supply to far-flung areas.

Sher Zaman, an official in Bara, claimed to have achieved his target of providing free books to all the 128 primary schools in the sub-division.

He said that a total of 156,000 new and used books were distributed during the three days of free distribution with shortage of only English textbook for grade 1, general science for grade 4 and drawing books for grade 3 and 4, which would soon be procured and duly distributed among the needy students.

In Jamrud and Landi Kotal, the books distribution was also swift as only some schools in the far-flung localities of Loe Shalman, Bazaar-Zakhakhel and Malagori were yet to be reached till May 25.

Inayatur Rehman, an education department official in Landi Kotal, told Dawn that they had so far distributed free books in 35 primary schools out of the total 85 while the distribution was in progress till late on Thursday.

He said that education department gathered necessary data about used books in March and directed teaching staff of all schools to collect the same from those students, who were willing to donate their old textbooks.

The official said that full sets of textbooks for primary school students were distributed. He added that distribution of free textbooks among middle, high and higher secondary students would be started on May 25.

Published in Dawn, May 24th, 2024