Education Minister Dhaniram Poudel has said preparations are on to entrust the responsibility of printing school textbooks, which the Janak Education Materials Centre Limited (JEMC) has not yet managed to print, to the Sajha Prakashan. 

The education minister said this while addressing an interaction programme organised by Federation of Nepal Books and Stationery Business (FNBSB) here on Friday, Minister Poudel said the responsibility of printing the remaining school textbooks would be given first to the Sajha Prakashan and then to the private sector publishers. 

He added that policy decision would also be taken soon regarding the management of the textbooks distribution. 

"The government is serious so that the textbooks reach in the hands of the students before the start of the new school session," the Minister for Education said, adding that a master plan would be prepared and implemented regarding adjustment of textbook price and managing printing at the regional level. 

JEMC which has the responsibility of printing textbooks to be used from Grade 6 to 10 for the next school year has so far printed only 60 percent of the required textbooks. The private sector has been assigned the responsibility of printing and distributing textbooks of Grade 1 to 5. The new school year starts from April 15. 

Federation chairman Hari Aryal on the occasion handed over a memorandum to the Education Minister. The memo, among other things, calls for providing the cost of transporting and distributing textbooks last year which the federation was yet to receive from JEMC. 

JEMC and Sajha Prakashan are both state-owned corporations. RSS