The Ministry of Education in Nepal has given permission to private publishers to print primary school textbooks across all development regions due to the Janak Education Materials Center's consistent failure to deliver textbooks on time. Private publishers will now print textbooks for grades 1-5 in the Central, Western, and Mid-Western regions as well as higher grades in other regions. This comes after millions of students were left without books two weeks into the last academic year due to delays. The General Manager of JEMC criticized the decision, saying the government is not supporting its own publication house and is instead promoting the private sector.