PRAYAGRAJ, May 22 -- The Uttar Pradesh Madhyamik Shiksha Parishad (UP Board) is preparing to publish separate subject textbooks for English-medium students of Classes 9 to 12, a move expected to benefit nearly 2.5 lakh students across the state. At present, students enrolled in English-medium sections often struggle to access adequate board-prescribed study material and largely depend on comparatively expensive National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) books. Officials said that the proposed initiative aims to ensure the affordable and timely availability of textbooks for English-medium students, similar to the system already in place for Hindi-medium students. So far, the UP Board has been publishing only Hindi-medium textbooks based on the NCERT syllabus after obtaining the necessary approvals from NCERT and incorporating state-specific modifications with its consent. To ensure affordable and authentic textbooks reach over one crore students studying in more than 29,000 UP Board-affiliated schools, the Board currently prints and distributes books through selected publishers. NCERT-based textbooks were introduced in UP Board schools in 2016. UP Board secretary Bhagwati Singh confirmed initiation of preliminary preparations for the new arrangement. Officials said students are already required to specify their medium of instruction while filling examination forms for Classes 9 to 12. The Board currently uses this data to prepare question papers in both Hindi and English mediums. The same database will now help assess demand and determine the number of English-medium textbooks required. The initiative is also expected to reduce the academic resource gap between English-medium schools in rural and urban areas. Officials added that the Board is planning phased printing and distribution of English-medium textbooks from the 2027-28 academic session to ensure students do not face difficulties in studies and that quality education becomes equally accessible to all....