Mahabub Alam :
Many school teachers now make money by pressing their students to buy books from selected publishers as they get regular commission in return from them.
This is like that of medical practitioners, who prescribe medicines of only preferred drug companies as they get huge commission and gift from these companies.
In every December, the publication houses approach heads of the educational institutions for this purpose and offer a very good amount ranging from Tk 50,000 to Tk 500,000.
It is alleged that the school teachers give lists to the students in January, mentioning names of the additional books and the publications. And the students have to buy these books by paying two to three time higher prices. Interestingly, no lesson is taught from these books in classrooms.
An SSC examinee from Saleha School and College said that he had to buy five additional books this year, paying Tk 320 and Tk 1,200 per book, he added.
“My father is a poor rickshaw puller. He (father) had to struggle hard to manage extra money for the extra books, after maintaining our eight-member family,” he said.
It is reported that some renowned schools stress their students to buy books of the Indian publications, getting a huge amount as commission.
According to the Bangladesh Mudran Shilpa Samity, there are 1090 publication houses in our country. Teachers of some schools in the city said that a number of text books, including English from Class VI to X, are incorrect and not standard for a good result.
On the contrary, Md Shahidul Alam, Principal of Hazi Abdul Awal Degree College said, our text books are enough for students to make a brilliant result. “I think that unlawful practice in school should be stopped”, he said.
Kindergartens are taken to be most suitable venues for trading of book. Mother of a student in Class I of Rayhan School and College said, she had to buy five additional books in January this year.
On condition of anonymity, a staff of the school said that their principal contacted last year with Noor Publications, Sonamoni Publications, The University Press Limited, Metropolis Library, Nazrul Press and Publications and other publications in exchange for a big amount of money, and referred their books in the book list.
“Many publications have already contacted with our principal to sell their books for 2015”, he said.
A teacher of Nur Jahan Begum High School said, in December 2013, their headmaster had a contact with some publication houses for book, in exchange for a handsome amount of money. “Now, a negotiation is going on for 2015”.
A teacher of Azimpur Girls’ School and College said some publications have contacted their principal in December in this regard.
An employee of Jupiter Publications said that they are working on with a full-swing to contact with schools so that their books are selected there.
Mohammad Jamal Hossain, a guardian of a student of Class IV of a school located at Kamrangirchar in the city said that he had to buy five extra books following a book list issued by the school authority in last January. But the teachers did not teach from most of the books, he said.
When contacted, ACC Chairman Md Badiuzzaman told this reporter that it was one kind of corruption practice.
