Three months into the academic year, students in some of the Capital's government and MCD schools are still waiting for textbooks. Since 2007, the government has been providing free textbooks to all students from Classes I to VIII in Government, MCD, Delhi Cantonment Board and New Delhi Municipal Council schools. Prior to this move, free textbooks were only available for girls, and boys from the SC/ST category, in Classes VI to VIII under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) programme. Under the circumstances, 10-year old Ruksar, who studies in Class VI at the Gandhi Memorial Government School in Shahdara, faced the arduous task of preparing for her last two unit tests, in Hindi and English, without the set texts. "It makes revision quite difficult,' she said. Ruksar managed to study using a guidebook passed down from her elder brothers studying in Classes VII and VIII, who are also waiting for textbooks. Mother Ruksana said: "The expense of purchasing books for all three children is too high for our family to afford - at least Rs 80 per book for each subject - so we have to wait.' The school has passed on its requirements for textbooks to its Education Officer and hope to receive the deliveries soon. "One of the problems is that admissions are going on, so the number of students keep increasing. But tests in classes have started and the absence of textbooks is unjustifiable,' said a teacher, on the condition of anonymity. At the Government Girls Senior Secondary School in Pitampura, textbooks are arriving in handfuls. "I'm using last year's textbook,' said a language teacher, "but it makes teaching difficult as most students don't have a copy. Some parents are even prepared to buy books now.' The Delhi Bureau of Textbooks (DBT), a government body, prints books as per the orders and requirements of schools. Given that many schools in the Capital have reported timely deliveries of textbooks, a lapse in distribution in certain areas is identified as the cause of the delay, according to RM Mohla, assistant district coordinator of SSA in Delhi. He said: "The DBT has already printed all books that have been ordered for and they are available at the office. Distribution to schools, which seems to be the problem here, is the duty of Education Officers.' Director of Education, Sandeep Kumar, was unavailable for comment. Meanwhile Prithvi Raj Sahni, Chairman of the Education Committee of the MCD, said: "Students should receive books by April, when the school term starts. As per my knowledge only Class IV Mathematics textbooks are yet to be received by the MCD sch