There has been a major controversy in Rajasthan after the academic syllabus was revised without a moment’s notice leaving almost 10 lakh newly printed school textbooks redundant, leading to an estimated loss of ₹7 crore to the state exchequer.
As reported, around five lakh of the books were printed specifically for Class 7 students, which were not usable. However, the textbooks had already been manufactured and sent out to the stores before the Rajasthan Education department approved a change in the syllabus for the ongoing session.
This came to light when old class-7 textbooks were reportedly discovered along with new class-7 textbooks sent to schools this year. Sources said that old stock had been intentionally stored in front of new stock inside stock rooms managed by the Rajasthan Textbook Board.
According to sources, poor conditions were found at some of the storage facilities, such as textbooks in Jaipur, with old and unused books stacked in separate piles. Thousands of books are still unused in various districts.
The Rajasthan education department has been cautious about commenting on the financial impact of the now-discontinued stock. But senior officials said that the printing was already under way before the final approval of the revised syllabus. They said that purchase orders and printing contracts were given under the previous curriculum system.
The department has now started the printing of the Class 7 textbooks as per the new NCERT syllabus for the current academic session and on the same is sending them out. Authorities also confirmed that the unused textbooks from last year and older versions of the SIERT curriculum may be officially declared ‘scrap stock’ and bought and sold at auctions in the near future.
The incident has sparked criticism for poor planning and co-ordination into the education department which has led to opposition leaders and education experts asking how such a ‘costly administrative mistake’ could have been made.