Short of books, Class XII students schooled in patience at start of academic year in Ludhiana.

Ludhiana: Thousands of Class-XII students in Punjab's govt schools have begun their final academic year without essential textbooks, sparking fears that the delay will compromise results in the high-stakes board examinations.Despite the start of the new session, students in senior secondary schools report a critical shortage of govt-issued materials for major subjects, including economics, political science, history, and Punjabi. While some books were distributed recently, core sets for the humanities, commerce, and science streams remain incomplete.For many families, the shortage has created an unexpected financial burden. Students told reporters they had been forced to purchase their own copies from local bookshops or track down second-hand versions from previous years to keep up with daily lessons."We await books for political science and both micro and macroeconomics," said one Class-XII student. "For history, we simply had to buy our own."Teachers in Ludhiana noted that this was a recurring issue, with many students eventually giving up on govt supplies to avoid falling behind. School administrators claim they have submitted the required requisitions based on enrolment numbers, but the supply chain remains stalled.The education department officials offered conflicting views on the scale of the shortage. Deputy district education officer Amandeep Singh claimed that 90% of book distribution was complete, attributing the gaps to specific blocks that will be serviced "as soon as possible".District education officer Dimple Madaan stated she would "check the situation" and provide an update. The delay is particularly concerning for Year 12 cohorts, who argue that every week lost without study materials reduces their ability to master complex subjects before final examinations.Under the current system, Punjab govt schools offer a variety of streams — including vocational and medical — but shortages of books appear to be affecting even compulsory subjects like Punjabi and computer science.
Check West Bengal Madhyamik Result 2026 online at TOI