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Sindh Textbook Board's slumber continues
Karachi, March 17(The News): The chances of distribution of textbooks to students look bleaker as
the Sindh Textbook Board (STB) and the Sindh Education Department have refused
to rise from the deep slumber of mismanagement and take concrete action to
publish and distribute textbooks on time.
According to the previous
practice, textbooks are usually distributed to the district education offices
during the summer vacations (June/July) and the students get them soon as
schools reopen in August. The current scenario suggests that providing books on
time is a distant possibility since even things like printing paper have not
been purchased by the STB as yet.
Aziz Khalid, Chairman, Pakistan
Publishers' and Booksellers' Association (PPBA), was very candid while talking
on Wednesday. He accused the STB and the Sindh Education Department
for their short sightedness in the current situation, lambasting the STB
chairmen and the proposal of printing the books in Indonesia. He accepted that
Indonesian paper was of high quality but disagreed that the books should be
printed there since such an act can potentially damage the paper, printing,
publishing and book binding industry of Pakistan. "The STB could have managed
the printing and distribution of the books, instead dishonesty and ill
intentions prevailed. The personal interest sidetracked the interest of the
children - the future of the nation," he said.
Khalid pointed out that
the KESC had already begun its load shedding programme, the 'mother of load
shedding.' It would be highly improbable to complete the printing process within
a few months. The STB has not begun the paper allocation process to the
publishers. Even if the printing process was complete, the distribution of books
to far flung areas is impossible in such a short period. The STB might find it
expedient to bully the publishers to complete the printing process in a short
time. This might affect the printing quality of the books, giving the STB an
opportunity to blame the publishers for its own incompetence.
The
incapability of the STB becomes more apparent due to the maddening silence of
the Sindh Education department regarding the issue. Dr Hameeda Khuhro, Minister
for Education and Literacy, seems engrossed with more important matters of the
State. The mess created by the STB is apparently going unnoticed by her. Her
incompetence is more apparent when we see the other provinces of Pakistan
successfully accomplishing the task. The STB adopted a delaying policy in
printing the books from Indonesia, waiting for 'appropriate kickbacks' from the
country, but it did not see the light and had to cool its heels before it tried
greener pastures.
The latest reports reveal that the price of paper has
gone up, bringing more bad luck to the STB and suffering to the children. Khalid
made it clear that the STB should provide raw material to publishers, allowing
them to use maximum effort to complete the task before it is too late.
The News tried unsuccessfully to contact Mazhar Ali Siddiqui, acting
Chairman of STB for a statement. He seems to be perpetually in a meeting or out
of his office. No return calls have been made to the newspaper.
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| Education News | | Updated: 25 May, 2012 |
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