LAHORE, Aug 2: The independent status of the Curriculum Research and Development Centre (CRDC) is being restored, it is learnt. The CRDC was merged with the Punjab Textbook Board some three years ago as part of the government’s curriculum reforms programme as the functions of both departments were seen as overlapping.

A senior officer of the education department told Dawn that a summery in this regard had been sent to the Punjab chief minister for submission to the cabinet for its approval. He said the whole process might take some three to four months to complete.

Sources, however, said the merger experiment did not work as the CRDC wing under the PTB could not carry out a single research project during the last three years. The CRDC, before the merger, carried out around 20 research projects annually, they added.

They said there were no checks and balances on the curricula development during the period as the CRDC wing was reluctant to criticize its own organization. Numerous mistakes were made in the textbooks of various classes during the period because of this reason, they added.

Many complications also occurred in the merger of the CRDC employees’ services with those of the PTB as the former was an attached department of the education department and the latter was an autonomous body. The CRDC employees had joined the PTB on deputation.

On the other hand, the PTB claimed that it had to bear huge financial burden after the merger.

The sources said that the cabinet had approved the merger despite an observation that the functions and purpose of the two departments were different and their merger might not be appropriate.

They said the government’s idea of producing modern textbooks after pooling the resources and input of two organizations and reducing the expenditure did not work.

The main function of the CRDC is to assist the curricula wing of the federal education ministry, evaluate and revise curricula of all subjects from class I to XII.

It is also supposed to conduct research in curricula and allied issues.

Its other functions are to plan, execute and monitor field-testing of the new curricula material and to collect data on the impact of new curriculum on the learners, the teachers and the school administrations.

The function of the PTB, primarily, is to print and produce textbooks.

Interestingly, every province except Punjab has a CRDC that is supervised by a federal wing — Inter Board Committee of Chairmen (IBCC).