New Delhi: Four months into the 2026-27 academic session, some Class IX students in Delhi govt schools are still waiting for Hindi-medium NCERT textbooks in science and social science, with parents and education activists alleging that the delay has left students dependent on teachers’ phones and handwritten notes.The alleged shortage has also raised questions about why Hindi-medium editions remain unavailable when English-medium versions were released earlier. Parents and activists claim this has put Hindi-medium students at a disadvantage. They allege discrimination.Umesh Gupta, a member of a school management committee and social worker, said he had received complaints from several students and parents. “This is discrimination against Hindi-medium govt school students by NCERT. It is alarming that even four months into the 2026-27 academic session, Hindi-medium Class IX science and social science books are not available in the market,” he said.The impact of the shortage, activists said, is already visible inside classrooms, where teachers and students are being forced to improvise in the absence of textbooks. Education activist and lawyer Ashok Agarwal said he encountered the problem during a recent visit to parts of east Delhi where Class IX govt school students told him they were yet to receive their books. “Some students told me that they still have no textbooks. In some cases, the teacher reads out the lesson from a mobile phone, and that is how students study and take down notes,” Agarwal said. “A textbook is the most basic learning resource. Expecting children to go through months of an academic session without one inevitably puts them at a disadvantage.”The latest complaints came against the backdrop of textbook shortages that had already affected Delhi govt schools at the start of the academic session on April 1. At the time, students from Classes I to VIII were also affected by delays, despite earlier assurances that textbooks would be made available from the first day of the new session.In classrooms without books, teachers had turned to worksheets and other makeshift arrangements to keep lessons going. But educators had pointed out that such alternatives could not indefinitely substitute textbooks, particularly when students needed material for independent study, homework and revision outside school hours.“The Class IX shortage assumes added significance as students make the transition to secondary-level education, where the curriculum becomes more demanding and science and social science are core subjects. Prolonged dependence on worksheets, dictated notes or material read from mobile phones could particularly hurt students who have limited access to digital devices or learning support at home,” a teacher at a govt school in south Delhi said.Parents and activists have sought urgent intervention to ensure that Hindi-medium students receive the same access to learning materials as their English-medium counterparts. Queries sent to DoE and NCERT remained unanswered.
