Thiruvananthapuram |Kerala General Education Minister V Sivankutty on Sunday sought immediate intervention of the Centre to resolve the shortage of textbooks in Kendriya Vidyalayas in the state.

He highlighted that students of Classes 5 and 8 in PM Sri Kendriya Vidyalayas are still without essential books, even four months after the commencement of the classes.

With just days left for the first quarterly examinations, the negligence on the part of NCERT authorities, who are supposed to distribute books, is extremely serious, the minister pointed out in a statement.

Classes in Kendriya Vidyalayas began on April 1. But even after four months, teachers were only provided with study materials online.

The minister noted that students will not be able to face the exams without books, which will seriously affect their studies.

Drawing a parallel between the government schools in the state, Sivankutty said the state authorities have made textbooks available there even before the beginning of the academic year.

"In this circumstance, the negligence on the part of NCERT is unacceptable. The move is to distribute the books through online platforms and private book stalls instead of making them available in schools," Sivankutty alleged.

It would force children to buy books at an exorbitant price. The union government should immediately intervene to make textbooks available to the students considering their future, the minister added.