The National Textbook Festival will be celebrated at all primary and secondary level educational institutions on Monday across the country.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Saturday formally inaugurated the free textbook distribution programme for the academic year 2018.

The premier opened the free textbook distribution programme by handing over textbooks of primary and secondary levels to students at a function at her official Ganabhaban residence here.

Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid will inaugurate the central programme of the ‘National Textbook Festival-2018’ at Azimpur Government Girls School and College in the capital at 10:30am on January 1.

Chairman of National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) Prof M Moshiuzzaman said that the government will distribute 35,42,90,162 textbooks free of cost among the primary and secondary level students in the academic year 2018.

‘The free textbooks will be distributed among 4,37,06,895 pre-primary, primary, secondary, ibtedayi, dakhil, dakhil vocational, SSC vocational, small anthropological group and visually challenged students across the country,’ he said.

The distribution programme will also be celebrated at every division, district and upazila level.