M M Jasim :
Punishment will be taken to those of the National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) officials, who deliberately made mistakes in the textbooks, said sources close to the Education Ministry.
The names of the errant officials and the details of their mistakes will be unveiled to the nation soon.
The Ministry will also take initiative to reshuffle the NCTB and to remove all the corrupt and unskilled officials therefrom.
The sources said, the members of the probe committee submitted their report to Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid last week. The probe report identified the officials behind the textbook mistakes and suggested some points to activate the NCTB.
The Minister through a press briefing will disclose to the public the nature of the mistakes made by the officials and the nature of the punishment to be taken against them, an official of the Ministry told The New Nation on Monday wishing anonymity.
A member of the probe committee seeking anonymity told this correspondent that the committee found many irregularities in the NCTB.
“The officials of the NCTB received an handsome amount of money from the government’s fund in the name of extra work. But unfortunately they failed to do the assigned duties but wasted the government fund,” he said.
The Ministry and the NCTB sources said, there are 77 first class posts in the NCTB. According to the provision, the NCTB can appoint officials in all the 77 posts except chairman, four members and a secretary. But 63 posts are under the umbrella of education cadre. Even an official, who is the brother of a top-level official of Public Administration Ministry, has been working here for 18 years.
Secretary (Secondary and Higher Education Division) of the Education Ministry Md Sohrab Hossain said, the Ministry will lodge cases against the accountable officials and will ensure their punishment even if they are influential. The NCTB will be reshuffled and the officials will be removed who have been staying for long in the NCTB.
“We will appoint the skilled persons in the NCTB and the experienced persons will be given priority. We will take subject wise experienced teachers from Dhaka University in case of stipulation,” Sohrab Hossain said.
It may be mentioned that the Ministry on January 6 formed a three-member probe committee headed by Additional Secretary (Secondary and Higher Education Division) of the Education Ministry Ruhi Rahman after widespread criticism regarding the mistakes in the new textbooks.
In the meantime, the Ministry in the month of January suspended two officials of the NCTB based on the primary findings.
