In a significant move for students across Uttar Pradesh, the state's secondary education board has announced that its textbooks for the upcoming academic year will be priced lower than the national counterparts, despite a slight rise in production costs. This decision promises substantial financial relief for families.
Early Distribution to End Years of Delay
For the first time in nine years, students from middle and lower-middle-income backgrounds will have access to authorised textbooks at reasonable prices right at the start of the session. Historically, a major pain point has been the delayed arrival of books in the market, which typically happened only by July, despite the academic year commencing on April 1.
This delay forced countless students to purchase unauthorised and often exorbitantly priced books from private publishers within weeks of starting school. Recognising this persistent issue, the Uttar Pradesh Secondary Education Board (UP Board) proactively initiated the publication process much earlier this year.
Strategic Measures for Statewide Availability
To ensure no student is left behind, the board has implemented a two-pronged strategy focusing on distribution and retailer incentives. Publishers have been made directly responsible for supplying books to all 75 districts of the state, a task that was previously hampered by low profit margins leading to poor distribution.
Furthermore, to improve availability at the local level, the board is offering a 20% commission to retail booksellers on the sale of UP Board-published NCERT-based textbooks. Officials believe this financial incentive will motivate retailers to actively stock and sell the books, making them easily accessible.
Pricing and Scope of the Initiative
The board has issued work orders for a total of 70 textbooks spanning 36 subjects aligned with the NCERT syllabus. Additionally, 12 textbooks in Hindi, Sanskrit, and Urdu have been commissioned. The pricing structure has been designed to be exceptionally student-friendly:
- Class 9: Complete set of 12 books for Rs 485.
- Class 10: Set of 11 books for Rs 474 (Rs 482 for students opting for Urdu).
- Class 11 (Science): Full set for Rs 458.
- Class 12 (Science with Mathematics): Complete set for Rs 439.
Widespread Impact on Crores of Students
This initiative is set to benefit a massive population of learners. Over 1 crore students in classes 9 to 12 studying in more than 29,000 UP Board-affiliated schools across Uttar Pradesh will feel the positive impact of this timely and affordable textbook supply.
With the work order already issued, officials have confirmed that the textbooks are on track to reach every district by the end of this month. This marks a decisive step towards equitable access to education and alleviates a long-standing financial and logistical burden on students and parents in the state.
