Dhangadhi, July 13:

Shortage of textbooks for second and third grades has affected studies in Kailali district.

Booksellers say delay on the part of Sajha Publications, the authorised distributor of the text books published by the Janak Education Materials Centre, has caused shortage but Sajha Publication’s Dhangadhi office said the booksellers have created artificial shortage of text books to get commission.

The regional office of Sajha Publication at Dhangadhi supplies textbooks in all nine districts of far western development region. There are over two dozen bookshops in Dhangadhi and Tikapur but no textbooks for second and third grades.

Booksellers claim to have paid Sajha in advance for textbooks. Regional Chief of Sajha Publication, Deepak Adhikari, admitted that there was shortage of textbooks of the second grade but said booksellers are creating artificial shortage of textbooks of the third grade to gain more commission.

Adhikari said there is a demand of some 55,000 sets of textbooks for the second grade and that around 10,000 sets is reaching the region within next week.

He said the delay in supply of the book has been created due to change of curriculum in the first grade and the possibility of change in curriculum of the second and the third grades in the next academic year.