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THOUGH the government has imposed ban on the printing, publication and sale of notebooks for the students of Class I to Class VIII, sale of those books are rampant in different bookshops in Patuakhali district town and seven upazila headquarters.
   These notebooks are mainly printed and sold by several publishing houses in Dhaka, Noakhali, Barisal and other important commercial hubs of the country.
   The publishers push the sale of notebooks as guide books. The publishers and owners of some bookshops pursue the headmasters of primary and high schools so that they instruct their students to buy notebooks, according to some teachers.
   There are 1,976 government, 566 registered primary and 1,132 high schools across the district, according to the district education official.
   Overwhelming majority of students of these institutions have to buy notebooks under the advice of the headmasters. These headmasters patronise and promote sale of notebooks in exchange for money, which is paid by the publishers and owners of the bookshops, alleged some students and their guardians, while talking to New Age.
   Some teachers of different coaching centres also force their students to buy notebooks, they said.
   The publishers usually send their notebooks to the headmasters by post or courier service and also offer them money as commission through the book shoppers, some bookshop owners said.
   Accordingly the headmasters suggest their students to buy notebooks of the specific book publishing companies. Students and their guardians have to go to the bookshops to purchase the specific notebooks. The notebooks cannot be found at other bookshops, the bookshop owners added.
   Md Rezaul Haque Harun, a guardian of a student of Class IV, said his son gave him a book list, forwarded by the headmaster, suggesting notebooks of Bengali, English and mathematics. When he went to buy those books he did not find those in all the bookshops. He found these books only in three bookshops and the shoppers compelled him to buy those books at the printed rate in the books.
   ‘I cannot understand the necessity of reading these notebooks at the primary level. I think, it makes an extra burden for the students. The government should take action against those publishers, who print these illegal notebooks in the name of guide books,’ he said.
   When approached, the headmasters of over a dozen of high schools, refused to talk on the issue.
   The district education officer told New Age that he had already discussed the matter with the deputy commissioner. Drive will be launched soon against those book shoppers who are not obeying the government’s order, he added.