Hyderabad: There will be no delays in distributing textbooks for the upcoming academic year. The Government Textbook Press in Telangana has already sent out 35% of the free component textbooks to district points.
Starting this academic year, the thickness of the textbooks has been reduced from 90 GSM to 70 GSM. Srinivasa Chary, the joint director in-charge of textbooks for Telangana, mentioned that in the past two years, students faced difficulties due to textbook shortages. However, this year, they have printed and dispatched 35% of the free component textbooks ahead of time.
Bilingual textbooks have been printed for classes I to X due to the introduction of English-medium instruction. This year, class X has been included as well. The textbooks are being distributed in two phases: summative I and summative II.
Around 1.85 crore free component textbooks are needed for about 28,77,675 students in government-run institutions for the 2024-25 academic year. Textbooks will reach district points by the end of this month and then be sent to schools. For private schools, textbooks will be available in the market starting from May 30.
The paper thickness has been reduced as per the School Education Department’s instructions. The thickness of the paper has been decreased from 90 to 70 GSM, and the cover page thickness from 250 to 200 GSM. This reduction in thickness will make the textbooks lighter, with Class I English medium textbooks now weighing 1.408 kg, which is 583 grams lighter than before. Class X textbooks have also been reduced by 1.183 kg. The content of the textbooks will not be affected by this change.
