With only two months left until the completion of the current academic year, the Department of School Education and Literacy (DSEL) has not yet started the process for printing school textbooks for the year 2026-27. This will, in all likelihood, lead to a delay in distributing textbooks to students next academic year and not be available at schools before they reopen after the summer break on June 1, sources said.
The main reason for this is that the State government has not yet granted “administrative approval” for the printing of textbooks.
Since 2010-11, the Karnataka Textbook Society (KTBS) has been responsible for the design, production, and distribution of textbooks for all government, aided, and unaided schools under the state curriculum. While the State government is distributing textbooks free of charge to all students in classes 1 to 10 at government schools, all unaided schools must submit an indent for textbooks to the DSEL, as per the Students Achievement Tracking System (SATS) enrolment.
Every year, administrative approval is obtained from the government in November or December for the printing of the necessary textbooks. By the second week of January, indents are received from private schools, and then the tender is finalised, and printing of the books begins. By the end of May, most of the textbooks are supplied to all schools before the start of the school year, sources said.
However, even as January is coming to a close this year, the State government has not yet given administrative approval for the printing of the textbooks.
Vikas Kishor Suralkar, Commissioner for School Education, confirmed that the administrative approval for the printing of textbooks is yet to come. “As soon as the approval is granted, a tender will be floated, and necessary steps will be taken for the printing of the textbooks,” he said.
Stakeholders’ concern
Private school management and other stakeholders have expressed concerns that the textbooks may be delayed this time.
“Previously, textbooks were not distributed even three to four months after the start of school. However, for the last three to four years, most textbooks have been distributed before the start of school. Unfortunately, the government has not yet called for an indent for textbooks for the year 2026-27. As a result, the distribution of textbooks will be delayed this time. Since we are following the state curriculum, we cannot provide alternative books. Therefore, the department should quickly obtain permission from the government and initiate the printing process for the textbooks. If the textbooks are delayed, the educational activities of the children will be hampered,” said Shashikumar D., general secretary of the Associated Managements of Primary and Secondary Schools in Karnataka (KAMS).
“It is not right that the government is delaying the approval for the printing of textbooks, even though there are only four months left until the start of schools for the academic year 2026-27. If textbooks and uniforms are not distributed to all children by the start of the school year, a struggle against the government will be inevitable,” warned Umesh G. Gangavadi, State president of the School Development and Monitoring Committee (SDMC).
Published – January 31, 2026 07:58 pm IST
