19 May 2004	Wednesday	28 Rabi-ul-Awwal 1425

ISLAMABAD, May 18: The Senate Standing Committee on education on Tuesday observed that the issue of deletion of material related to the ideology of Pakistan and Islam from the textbooks published by the Punjab Textbook Board was very crucial and the persons responsible must be taken to task.

The committee, which met here under the chairmanship of Senator Razia Alam Khan, dilated on the issue and observed that it should not be looked at emotionally or politically but an objective analysis of the whole issue should be carried out.

The committee decided to set up a sub-committee, which would review the textbooks, identify the mistakes and submit its recommendations/findings to the committee for appropriate action.

Education Minister Zobaida Jalal disclosed that Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali had directed that the "Ayats" removed from the biology books of 9th and 10th classes should be included in the books again.

She told the committee that the textbook boards and private publishers submit draft textbooks to the Curriculum Wing of the education ministry. These books are reviewed by the National Review Committee which prepares recommendations/observations to be followed.

An updated draft in the light of the National Review Committee's recommendations is put up to the Curriculum Wing for second review after which a no objection certificate is issued by the ministry, said Ms Jalal.

The minister re-affirmed that nothing had been deleted from the textbooks related to the ideology of Pakistan and sciences, languages and Islamiat keeping in view the comprehension level of the students.

She admitted that some errors/mistakes had come to her notice and stated that necessary corrections had already been incorporated in the textbooks. She said the textbook boards were bound to publish the books in accordance with the approved manuscript and the Punjab Text Book Board unfortunately published books without incorporating the deletions made by the education ministry.

Education Secretary Shafqat Ezdi Shah briefed the committee on the organisational structure of the education ministry and its attached departments. The members of the committee emphasized the need for developing a library culture in the country and observed that a library should be the hub of education and information and greater focus be laid on developing reading habits among the children.

It was suggested that the National Library be revamped and relocated at a place accessible to the general public. The committee was informed that the library had been developed as a repository and that it would be linked with online and digital libraries. In reply to a question, the committee was told that no registration of madressahs had been done during the last decade.

The meeting was attended by Senator Tahira Latif, Tanveer Khalid, S.M.Zafar, Prof Mohammad Saeed Siddiqui, Nighat Mirza, Roshan Khursheed Bharucha, Maulvi Agha Mohammad, Prof Mohammad Ibrahim Khan, the committee secretary, Rashid Ahmad and others.