The School Education Department has almost completed the process of distribution of free textbooks to schools.
The responsibility of delivering the books to panchayat union middle schools was vested with Block Education Officers.
Based on the indent obtained earlier from the schools, the textbooks were packed separately for each school and transported in lorries.
Monitoring
Monitored by Block Education Officers, ministerial staff saw through the delivery of the book packages to every school.
Likewise, Distict Education Officers were entrusted with the responsibility of delivering free textbooks to government high and higher secondary schools.
The department was on its toes all through the second fortnight of June as the textbooks had to be delivered to all schools before month-end as per agovernment instruction.
Unlike a few years ago, when school heads had to assume responsibility for transporting the books from common collection centres to their institutions, the school education department bore the transport expenses.
As per the directive, chief educational officers could burden the school heads with the transport expenses, school heads said.
There were, however, instances of heads of government aided schools collecting the free textbooks on their own initiative.
According to officials, the expenses incurred by the institutions would be reimbursed.
Meanwhile, teachers said they were anxious to know the chapters that would be deducted from the textbooks for the first trimester of the new academic year in view of the COVID-19 lockdown.
Committee set up
The school education ministry had formed a committee to suggest reduction and the initial indications were that 30% to 40 % of the content would be reduced.
Acknowledging the delivery of free textbooks, a headmaster of a panchayat union high school in Tiruverumbur Panchayat Union said there was no directive as yet from the school education department on the time schedule for distribution of books to the students.