Government schoolteachers have rejected the National Textbook and Learning Materials Policy (NTLMP) 2007 on the grounds that 80 percent of the books published by private publishers under this policy are full of errors and need a thorough review, Pakistan Today learnt on Sunday. Teachers across the province expressed their opinions in a survey conducted by the academic staff of the Punjab Text Book Board (PTTB).
The survey’s findings disclosed that private publishers are playing with the futures of the younger generation and looting public money.
A detailed version of the survey will be made public soon. Nevertheless, the initial findings call upon the government to review NTLMP 2007 and take notice of the corruption by private publishers. PTBB’s academic staff sent a questioner to public schoolteachers across the province to get their feedback about the books published by private publishers under NTLMP 2007.
The questions were about the content of books, textual matters, quality, language and academic courses. According to PTBB officials and documents made available to Pakistan Today, survey findings blame 80 percent of the policy’s failure on private publishers. Teachers believed books are too expensive for the poor students studying in government schools. The curriculum wing of the Ministry of Education adopted NTLMP in 2007 with a view to improving textbooks and learning materials but the policy has benefited only private publishers, the corruption mafia and incompetent writers. Numerous corruption cases have been identified within PTBB and some inquiries are also being carried out, but the government is still procrastinating.
A senior PTBB official, seeking anonymity, told Pakistan Today that PTBB is at stake due to the corruption by private publishers. He said bad policy paved the way for corrupt private publishers to earn millions. He said private publishers hire incompetent writes for paltry sums and there were no checks and balances on them. He said private publishers are racking it in while the government and public are at the receiving end of the stick.
He said the dropout ratio in Punjab’s schools is on the rise because poor students cannot afford to buy expensive books. Ammara, a primary schoolteacher, said government teachers already knew that this policy would only benefit private publishers, which is why they opposed it implacably, she added. She said the academic session has started and books are not available in the market. She called upon the government to review NTLMP and also conduct an audit of government money going to private publishers.
