PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Textbook Board plans to change the textbooks for each grade in line with the semester system recently introduced in public and private schools.
“The decision to change the course books of each grade has been taken after the implementation of semester system in schools by elementary and secondary education department,” officials told Dawn.
They said that not only the size of books would be reduced but also a couple of reduced books would be clubbed together to be called “jacketed books”.
“Before shifting to semester system, the textbook board printed books for entire academic year, which were thick in size. Now the size of books would be reduced to half from the next academic year,” Abidullah Kakakhel, the chairman of textbook board, told Dawn.
Textbook board chairman says it will significantly reduce weight of schoolbags
He said that it would also solve the outstanding issue of heavy school bags having impact on the health of students.
To resolve the issue of heavy school bags, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly had approved KP Schools Bags (Limitation of Weight) Act, 2020, but it couldn’t be implemented in letter and spirit, an official of education department said.
After the passage of the Act, Private Schools Regulatory Authority (PSRA) had also issued directions to all the private schools in the province to implement the law, but in vain.
Section 3 of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Schools Bags (Limitation of Weight) Act, 2020, states that the average weight of a schoolbag shall not be more than the weight as specified in the law.
According to the law, the average weight of schoolbag shall be 1.5 kilogramme for pre-grade, 2.4kg for grade-1, 2.6kg for grade-2, 3kg for grade-3, 4.4kg for grade-4, 5.3kg for grade-5, 5.4kg for grade-6, 5.8kg for grade-7, 5.9kg for grade-8, 6kg for grade-9, 6.5kg for grade-10 and 7kg for grade-11 and grade-12.
The law was passed by the provincial assembly to provide for a limitation of the weight of schoolbag and eliminate the possibility of deformities and spinal abnormalities in students caused due to excessive weight of their schoolbags.
Mr Kakakhel said that the board was responsible for publishing textbooks in millions annually. Printing such a huge quantity at once was causing delays and putting immense pressure on the printing and distribution system, he added.
To address this issue, the first reform is introduction of semester-wise books. “The provincial cabinet approved this system for pre-1 to grade-5 from academic year 2027-28 and for grades 6 to 8 from academic year 2028-29,” he said.
Under this system, the syllabus remains unchanged, but core subjects have been clubbed in jackets. A child of KG will carry one single book in shape of a jacket instead of three books, while students of grade-1 to 5 will carry two jackets instead of six books in each class.
“This will significantly reduce the weight of schoolbags and protect the physical health of young children, besides saving millions in binding costs,” said Mr Kakakhel.
He said that the board also shifted to zone-wise and semester-wise procurement. “The board will now procure books in two parts in accordance with the academic calendars of summer and winter zones,” he said.
The chairman of the textbook board said that the decision was taken keeping in view the need for timely supply, limited storage capacity, high risk of damage and deterioration due to prolonged storage, financial constraints and efficient utilisation of available funds.
He said that the distribution schedule of free textbooks should be aligned with the academic calendar and the proposed procurement and supply schedule to ensure timely availability of textbooks in schools.
“It will end the chronic issue of late delivery and ensure that books reach schools on the very first day of the academic session. It will also help to minimise wastage, avoid accumulation of dead stock and ensure efficient utilisation of funds,” said Mr Kakakhel.
Published in Dawn, September 28th, 2026.
