LAHORE, April 20: Two opposition members on the 22-man committee set up for probing 'unauthorized' changes in syllabi have announced boycott of its proceedings, saying they have no trust in the forum as it has 'unbalanced' representation.

Speaking at a press conference here on Tuesday, Liaquat Baloch, one of the opposition members, called upon the government to refrain from omitting Quranic verses from syllabi.

Flanked by the representatives of five Wafaqul Madaris and teachers and student bodies, he said the government should set up committees for each subject aimed at synchronizing all subjects with the teachings of Quran. Mr Baloch said a meeting of five chains of seminaries and associations of professors and students had on Monday prepared a 12-point charter of demands.

The demands include penalizing Education Minister Zobaida Jalal and officials responsible for inclusion of objectionable material in textbooks and repealing the 2001 cabinet decision on deregulating the publishing of textbooks.

According to the charter, material for Urdu, Pakistan studies, English and social studies books should be recompiled with Islam and ideology of Pakistan being made part of the contents.

It demanded setting up of a national curriculum council under the curriculum wing of the education ministry, comprising religious scholars, educationists, scientists, journalists and industrialists.

The curriculum wing was asked to expel the people who do not believe in the ideology of Pakistan and check NGOs' interference in curriculum and hire at least 200 experts for various subjects.

The charter also sought a ban on holding examinations like A and E Level and the IGCSE, and called for a uniform syllabi across the country. It demanded that the textbooks containing objectionable material be disposed of immediately and students be provided with new books free of cost.