KARACHI, Aug 30: The inordinate delay caused by the Sindh Textbook Board in the supply of books to government schools for free distribution will cost an extra amount of Rs 4 million to the Sindh education department.

Poor homework and ill-advised decisions of the Sindh Textbook Board have been attributed as the major factors behind delayed printing of books and their supply to government schools as well as in the market. It is on the one hand causing problems for parents and students, and on the other resulting in wastage of funds and resources, sources said.

The sources further said as the STB has again revised its schedule for supply books for Class IX and X to government schools, the Reforms Support Unit (RSU) which is responsible for ensuring smooth, foolproof and cost-effective supply to heads of schools would have to prepare a fresh schedule for distribution of books among students of Class IX and X for the third time.

The unit has to monitor the entire process of lifting and distribution of books from STB’s warehouses to students in schools.

“The unit is presently implementing its schedule for supply of books to Class VI to VIII in government schools, and till Aug 29, in addition to completing the exercise for distribution of primary school books, we have been able to send books to seven districts and four to six towns of Karachi,” said an official of the unit.

A sources said as the printing is being delayed, the unit would have to spare more time and resources. Had the STB printed the books in time, it could have saved the RSU from undertaking three different exercises, added the source, saying originally about Rs 5 million were allocated for distribution, transportation and payment of honorarium to heads of schools and other officials, which is now going to be doubled at least in the given situation.

Situation pertaining to supply of books to market is also not different, as market has not been able to meet the needs of students of private schools because of slow pace of printing of books by the registered publishers.The booksellers need an entire range of textbooks, particularly for secondary and matriculation levels, but they were sitting helpless as the STB has failed to meet the market demand and release books in time, said a bookseller in Urdu Bazaar.

Market sources said the STBB had handed the publishing job to the registered publishers, but there were some who were actually interested in bringing out their own publications first to meet the market needs for their onward sale to students of private schools.

The source emphasized that publishers are actually overloaded as they have to bring out not only their own books for private schools but also those of the STB’s meant both for free distribution and market release within a limited period.

The other problem is that as books published for free distribution yield quick profit to the publisher, there are publishers who prefer bringing out such sorts of books. The books for market sale have become a second priority during the recent years as it involves major investment and relatively slow profit owing to royalty and some other issues.

While giving a revised schedule for delivery of books to RSU and the market on Aug 16, the chairman of STB Prof Abdul Aziz Mehranvi, had stated that the entire range of free distribution books for Classes IX and X would be made available to RSU for onward transmission to districts and talukas latest by Aug 28, while the entire range of books pertaining to Class-I to X would be available to booksellers latest by Aug 26. However, the STB failed to fulfill the revised deadlines.

Another source said allocation of books to publishers was delayed up to May, while a decision to publish Class VI to X books for government schools students was also not given a heed by the authorities concerned, which, among other things, also resulted in handing of massive printing jobs to a limited number of publishers, in addition to paving room for “high-ups’ recommended publishers.”

Justifying his stance, the source said good quantity printing job was given to new, inexperienced and some dummy publishing houses as well, which in turn delayed the job.

The “fermaishi” printers did not know how to discharge the responsibilities, but they were eyeing on lucrative business and commissions and that was why they passed on STB’s print orders to those already overworked at Karachi, the source added.

An official of STB said both books for free distribution and for market were almost ready. It is hoped that class IX and X books for free distribution will be handed to the authorities now on Sept 6, while books for market sale will also be floated in full range in the first week of the coming month.

Talking on the issue of textbooks, chairman of the Pakistan Publishers and Booksellers’ Association, Abdul Aziz Khalid, said books in the market started pouring in on Aug 29 with the supply of two titles and it was understood that about 70 to 80 per cent of the books for market would be available within a week.

He claimed that publishers of Karachi had already completed their work pertaining to free distribution books and handed over those to the STB.

Admitting that the issue of delayed supply of books takes place every year and as such there was a dire need to make efforts and prepare a well thought out plan, ensuring complete coordination between the STB and registered publishers.

He said only a systematic working and elimination of “arbitrary decisions” in the allocations of books to publishers can help bring books in time, i.e. in April.