THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A senior INTUC leader and president of the KBPS staff and employees union on Thursday alleged that textbooks may not reach students of government-run schools on time when the new academic year begins in three weeks, citing a shortage of paper.K K Ibrahimkutty, president of the Kerala Books and Publications Society (KBPS) staff and employees union, told a TV channel that then General Education Minister V Sivankutty had, a month before elections, stated that books for all state-run schools would be distributed before they closed at the end of the 2025-26 academic year.“At that time, only 20 per cent of the books were ready. With 3 weeks left for the opening of schools, only 70 per cent have been completed, but their binding work is on hold due to a lack of paper to print front covers,” Ibrahimkutty claimed.He further said that even if the required paper is made available, it would still be difficult to ensure distribution of books to students before schools reopen.In the present situation, when the new government assumes office, it will face a financial burden of over Rs 300 crore, he contended.He also alleged that in the last five years, the Left government had not been able to provide textbooks to students on time.“At present, there is no paper to print the front covers for the 70 per cent books which are ready for binding and to print the remaining 30 per cent books,” he claimed, adding that the incoming government would need to urgently intervene to ensure students receive textbooks on time.Sivankutty, prior to the elections, had claimed that books for all classes in government schools would be provided before the end of the academic year.
