KARACHI: Millions of pupils made to wait for textbooks
By Mukhtar Alam
KARACHI, April 5: Poor planning by the Sindh Textbook Board has created a virtual crisis of books which continues to haunt schoolchildren and their parents throughout the metropolis.
Many of the people visiting intermittently the main book and stationery market, Urdu Bazaar, complain that a complete range of the STB books is still not available there. Though the STB claims that it has already released about half of its titles, booksellers have nothing to offer, said a parent of two primary school students.
A market survey revealed that booksellers were confused over the situation, particularly in regard to editions of books. "Students demand new or revised editions of the STB books but we do not have such titles. The STB is not expediting the process of marketing the books," said many of the booksellers.
One of them claimed that the situation had turned adverse due to the poor home work by the STB. The Board should not have talked much about new books if it was not sure about the allocation position and release of the revised books supposed to be prepared in line with the directives of the federal government issued some two years back.
Customers seek only new or revised books, be it a modified, or an unchanged edition, of the STB, according to another bookseller who said, there were only 14 titles available in the market.
Despite non-availability of books for many days, the market was crowded by customers owing to a provincial holiday on Monday. The titles available at Urdu Bazaar were: Class III Deenyat (unchanged); Class V Sindhi; Class VI Muashrati Uloom, Islamiat, Lughatul Quran, all new titles; Class VII English, S. Studies, Urdu (new), Muashrati Uloom (new) and Sindhi; Class VIII Muashrati Uloom; Class IX-Hayatiat and Class X English.
No book for Class I, II and IV is available, said a shopkeeper, adding that the situation was not manageable as publishers had not brought in books in an adequate number last year because they knew that the STB was going to market new/revised editions.The retailers, too, find it feasible to exhaust their stock of old STB books for the same reason.
Last year, non-availability of textbooks had not assumed the proportion of a crisis. This year, however, booksellers believe that books might not be made available for long.
"We have been kept on promise by STB field-officers, who come in touch with us every second day, that the books were just to arrive," said some of the major booksellers who lamented that the promise had remained unfulfilled as yet.
Interestingly, according to insiders, the STB was unable to market even 25 per cent of its total titles in an adequate number. These titles, they added, included Urdu, Islamiat, Deenyat, Sindhi and Muashrati Uloom, meant for private schools.
In the case of government sector primary schools, the STB has totally failed to meet the market requirement and, as such, about 2.8 million students have been made to suffer.
Lately, it had been announced that supply of the required sets of books to districts for free distribution would start from April 20. President of the Urdu Bazaar Welfare Association Nasim Ahmed described the situation as 'confusing' as both the booksellers and students were perturbed.
"We do have the prescribed books of private publishers which are meant for private schools, but in the absence of STB books, included in their list, students change their mind and leave without purchasing even the available books, expecting the availability of a complete range some other day."
Chairman of the Federation of Private Schools Management Associations Syed Khalid Shah says that his organization has already asked its members to switch over to private publishers' books, instead of waiting for those of the STB - Urdu, Deenyat, Islamiat, Social Studies, Mathematics, Sindhi, etc.
A local publisher, who prepares STB books as well, claims that text of certain books are ready, but their title covers not. "Lately, we were provided with paper/card required for the title covers, in a small quantity.
Therefore, some more titles would be ready for release to the market within a couple of days."An official of the STB had recently announced that there would be no new or modified books for the students of Class IX and X.
The other STB books to remain unchanged in the new academic session are: Urdu Qaida for Class I; Asaan Urdu for classes III to VIII; Asaan Sindhi for classes III to VIII; Sindhi (Lazmi) for classes I to VIII, Lughatul Quran for classes VI to VIII; Islamiat for classes III, VII and VIII; Science for classes VII and VIII, and Social Studies (All districts except Karachi) for class III.
