Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Nearly four months after government schools in the state reopened for the 2026-27 academic session on April 1, over 8.15 lakh students studying in Classes 1 to 8 are still waiting for their textbooks.
Official data from Education Portal 3.0, as of July 17, reveals that 8,15,399 students across the state have not received any textbooks, while 26.18 lakh received only a partial set of books.
This means that over 34.33 lakh students, more than six out of every 10 children enrolled in government schools, are still without a complete set of textbooks.
The district-wise data also exposes poor performance across the state. Out of the 53 districts, 44 have failed to ensure complete textbook distribution to even half of their enrolled students. In many districts, fewer than one-fourth of students have received all prescribed books, forcing children to rely on shared books or attend classes without study material.
Major districts with poor distribution
The worst-performing district is Rewa, where only 5,173 students (4.81%) have received complete textbooks. Mauganj follows with only 3,038 students (5.73%), while Maihar has managed to distribute complete books to just 3,450 students (6.28%). Other districts recording poor performance include Tikamgarh (15.79%), Harda (18.37%), Mandla (19.18%), Mandsaur (22.29%) and Bhopal (44.74%).
Books reach BRCCs, not students
Ironically, the department's own report suggests that the problem does not lie in procurement or transportation. The report shows that 99% of the state's textbook demand has already been dispatched by the Textbook Corporation (TBC), 99% of the books have reached Block Resource Coordination Centres (BRCCs), and dispatch orders have been generated for 95% of schools.
The block-wise report shows that districts including Chhindwara, Sidhi, Shivpuri, Betul, Katni, Datia, Chhatarpur and Alirajpur have reported almost 100% receipt of textbooks at the BRCC level, yet distribution to students remains poor.
