KARACHI: Schedule for textbook production finalised
By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, Feb 19: The Sindh Textbook Board has finalised the schedule for textbooks production in consultation with major publishers to ensure the availability of all the textbooks by June 30.
Addressing a press conference at his office on Monday, STB Chairman Dr Mohammad Ali Shaikh said the distribution of textbooks would take time and maintained that the textbooks would be available when the new academic session in schools would start by August 15 after summer vacation.
Giving details about the schedule, he said meetings were held with publishers and most of them required about three months in completing the printing of textbooks. He said the formalities including signing of agreements would have to be completed by March 31 so that printers and publishers could get three-month time.
Mr Shaikh, who is also holding the posts of Provincial College Education Manager and Sindh Education Department Media Manager, said the board required 23 working days in July to distribute free textbooks among 23 districts of the province. According to schedule, the books would be sent to the offices of EDOs Education in all the 23 districts of the province by July 31.
He said the EDO office would require about two weeks in distributing the books to schools in their respective districts and when schools would reopen on August 15, for new academic session, the books would be available with schools’ administration.
About the purchase of paper, he said tenders were invited for purchase of 5,670 metric tons of textbook grade paper. However, the samples received from the interested parties were sent to two laboratories for their analysis. As per reports received from one of the labs, none of the sample met the specifications as outlined in the tender. He said the Finance Committee of the Board would take the next course of action on Tuesday.
About the new curricula, he said the board had involved the registered publishers in developing new curricula for the textbooks of Class I, Class VI, Class IX and Class XI. With their active participation, he said, the new textbooks for these classes would be ready in time.
