New textbooks, big smiles

Like every year, free textbooks have been handed over to the students in the academic year 2023 as the textbook distribution started all over the country including the capital today.

Many happy faces were seen at the Dhaka University central playground where students from various schools of the city gathered to collect their new books.

Gourab Sarkar, a fifth grader of Banianagar Government Primary School, told The Daily Star, "It felt really good to get new books. In addition, I got to see some of my friends..."

Yameen, his classmate, was too excited to say anything. He was all smiles, holding a set of new books in his hands.

Riya of Gendaria Mahila Samity Primary School chipped in, "This is the first time I have come to a book festival. Look at the new books I got..."

On the occasion, new books of the 2023 academic year were handed over to the students of first and fifth grades of different educational institutions in the capital.

Four members of the Bangladesh women's football team distributed the books among children, which added an extra excitement to the festival.

In the 2023 academic year, a total of 9,66,08,245 books will be distributed among 2,19,84,823 students.