ISLAMABAD, May 6: The federal government has summoned the chairmen of all textbook boards to a meeting being held in the capital on May 10 to sort out the muddle of non-availability of text books even after passage of more than a month of the educational year.

This was stated by education minister Zobaida Jalal while replying to journalists’ questions about the hardships being experienced by parents in this connection.

She said it was the responsibility of the provincial textbook boards to ensure that textbooks were available to the children at the right time.

When asked as to what action she would take against those responsible for creating the problem, Ms Jalal said: “I have not taken any action against anybody, but we will ask the chairmen of textbook boards as to why they had not printed books in time.”

They will also be asked to explain non-implementation of the government’s policy decision to deregulate the printing of course books, she added.

“I know there is a mafia in this area, but it will take at least five years to break it,” the minister said.

She was told that in Islamabad, the problem was even more complex. Besides non-availability of textbooks, the school administrations in the capital are at a loss to advise their students about the books constituting syllabi at different levels.

The minister was informed that the problems was due to a tussle between two federal government departments. Some newspapers, she was told, had already published a report about a tug of war between the Federal Directorate of Education and the Federal Board of Intermediate & Secondary Education in this regard.