India, June 15 -- As schools across Maharashtra reopen on June 15, nearly 1.3 million State Board students are set to begin the new academic year without textbooks.

Students of Classes 3, 4 and 6 are among the worst affected, as several textbooks prepared under the revised curriculum aligned with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 have yet to reach schools and bookstores. Teachers and parents say English and Mathematics textbooks for Classes 3 and 4 remain unavailable in many parts of the state, while most Class 6 textbooks, except Hindi, have not been delivered.

With classrooms reopening today, many students will walk into school without the books that usually mark the beginning of a new academic year. According to the latest dat...