Chennai: Students of Classes I-III at many CBSE schools were yet to receive their new Tamil textbooks on opening day.CBSE schools in Tamil Nadu use textbooks produced by the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) for Tamil-language instruction for Classes I-X. This year, SCERT revised its curriculum for the lower primary grades and released new editions, but some schools said they had not placed orders yet. “We have received the books for Classes III-X,” said the principal of a prominent school on OMR. “Only Classes I and II are remaining. We expect them by next week,” he saidOthers had ordered the books but had not collected them. “We placed the order on Monday,” said another principal. “We still have to pick them up.”Venkateswaran, a former school principal, warned that prolonged delays could push schools to fall back on the old curriculum. “If the books don’t arrive on time, teachers will have no choice but to use what they have,” he said.School education minister Rajmohan, at a press conference on Thursday, said any logistical gaps would be addressed. “All schools should teach from the new textbooks. We will ensure that they get them,” the minister said.
