The school academic session of this year is well into its third month, but the children in rural parts of Achham district are still without textbooks.

Teachers and parents have complained that textbook shortage has affected studies of hundreds of children.

Ganesh Bahadur Rawa, the headmaster of Nera Basic School in Turmakhad Rural Municipality, said around 150 students in the school still do not have complete set of textbooks.

“Some of the students are using old textbooks, but most of them are without them,” he said. Dal Bahadur Rawal, a teacher of Jajajyoti School, said since many students did not have textbooks, teachers were having difficulty teaching and the students learning.

“This is a perennial problem that government has failed to address,” he said. The demand for textbooks of grades nine and ten is high in the district.

“We are facing problems teaching optional subjects to the shortage,” said Hira Khadka, a teacher of Bhairab Secondary School in Lakandraki Village.

Textbooks of Economics, Accountancy and Education are not available in the area.

Textbook shortage has also been reported in Bhairavsthan and Nada Rural Municipalities. The schools in these areas get their textbook delivery from Surkhet district.