Orissa Board ready with textbooks for 2011-12 session

Cuttack, Feb 16 (PTI) Much to the relief of schoolstudents burying all past criticisms, the Board ofSecondary Education (BSE) here began distributing schooltextbooks to dealers across the State for the coming academicsession of 2011-12.

Perhaps for the first time after a long gap, the Boardis now ready with textbooks about two months ahead ofthe session beginning in April.

BSE is entrusted with preparing manuscripts andprinting textbooks for classes VIII, IX and X for all Oriyamedium schools in the State. For last several years, the BSEcame under severe flak from all stakeholders for not beingable to provide textbooks to the students on time.

However, the present BSE president Satykam Mishra, whoassumed charge last year, took it as a challenge to providetextbooks to the school students much in advance before thebeginning of the academic session.

�We have already dispatched all books for Classes IXand X for the coming academic session earlier this month andbegan the process of distributing books for class VIII fromyesterday�, Mishra said today.

The Board prepares at least 10 titles of books forclass X and 14 each for Classes IX and VIII. �Since there hadbeen no change in the syllabus for classes IX and X, weprinted at least 1.5 lakh books on each title and sent them toall four zonal offices of the Board�, Mishra added.

But BSE printed over six lakh copies each for all the14 titles of textbooks for class VIII students who would behaving a new syllabus from coming academic year, he said.

�All class VIII books would be sent to at least 419centers spread across the State�, Mishra said adding theprocess of distribution of class VIII books would be completeby the end of this month.