Sagar Biswas :
Expressing severe discontent, a Parliamentary watchdog has asked the government to ensure tough action against the persons responsible for ‘a number of anomalies and blunders’ in the textbooks prepared by National Curriculum and Textbook Board [NCTB].
Apart from the above recommendation, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on education ministry in its meeting at Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban on Wednesday also formed a sub-committee to scrutinize the mistakes, and determines its adverse impact in the education sector.
The sub-committee will be headed by Shamsul Haque Chowdhury, MP, while two other members are Ali Azam, MP, and Mohammad Elias, MP, officials said. Presided over by Chairman of the committee Motahar Hossain, MP, the meeting was also attended, among others, by AKM Zahagir Hossain, MP, Shamsul Haque Chowdhury, MP, Nazrul Islam Babu, MP, Md Abul Kalam, MP, Ali Azam, MP, Mohammad Elias, MP and Umme Razi Kajol, MP.
The government on January 1 started distributing about 36.21 crore copies of textbooks among 4.26 crore students of pre-primary, primary and secondary students. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the book distributing occasion with huge enthusiasm.
But the effort was thwarted, when a number of errors and anomalies, including spelling mistakes, wrong arrangements of paragraphs and omission of articles, were found in the books. The issue had hit the headlines of mainstream media; and as well the errors went viral on the social media creating an embarrassing situation for the government.
“The JS body in the meeting asked the concerned ministry to collect necessary information from the field-administration level about the mistakes in the text books. We’re getting scattered information about the errors and anomalies through the newspapers. But it needs full and impartial report over the issue,” AKM Zahagir Hossain, MP, who was present in the meeting, said.
“The JS body in the meeting again gave proposal to form a separate education board for the primary level and also constituting another organization, like NCTB, to prepare textbooks and other necessary things for the primary students,” he noted.
There are widespread allegations that the text books also contained several chapters and photographs those are highly communal and also against the spirit of Liberation War 1971.
In this situation, Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid recently said: “There is no doubt that there are mistakes in the textbooks…. To err is human. But we have to be sincere more in future. We’ll take steps about the mistakes made in the school textbooks after submission of the probe report.”
Against this backdrop, two NCTB officials were made officers on special duty [OSD] following the preliminary investigation by education ministry in the wake of widespread criticism.
Meanwhile, the Sammilita Sangskritik Jote yesterday called for a greater movement across the country with the cooperation of social-cultural-professional organizations to resist the textbook curriculum that are spreading anti-Liberation ideology.
Eminent journalist Kamal Lohani said: “We’ve passed 45 years after the independence. So, we’ve to seriously think how the differences of thinking come in the textbooks. We’ll intensify our demand for a universal one-way education system.”
On the other hand, columnist Abul Maksud has recommended to arrange a public hearing in presence of textbook publishers, editors and examiners to overcome the present crisis.
Giving 72-hour ultimatum to education ministry, he further said, “If the ministry fails to give explanation about the inclusion of anti-Liberation subjects in the textbooks, then we’ll understand that government is implementing the ideology of Hefazat-e Islami.”
