One month and four days into the current academic year, nearly 18 free textbooks are yet to be printed. Although 50 publishers, including Lecture, Panjeri, Advanced, and Poppy, were tasked with printing books, they prioritized guidebooks instead of following the National Curriculum and Textbook Board’s (NCTB) directives. The market is now flooded with unauthorized guidebooks under the pretense of “All-in-One” practice books. Education experts warn that this will increase rote memorization and have advised strict action. The total number of primary and secondary students exceeds 43.4 million, with a demand for 401.5 million textbooks. Despite a daily printing capacity of 4 million books, only about 2 million are being produced due to a paper shortage. Meanwhile, in Nilkhet and Bangla Bazar, textbooks are being sold at high prices due to the shortage.