KARACHI, April 15: While controversy over erroneous textbooks continued, parents of school students thronged the city book-markets to purchase old editions of the books on Thursday.
Booksellers alleged that poor planning of textbook boards and indifference of education high-ups at Islamabad towards the whole process of developing curricula had thrown their business into total confusion.
"Instead of ending the controversy pertaining to objectionable or unsavoury textbook contents, the government officials are coming up with confusing statements every day, which has shattered the confidence of students and teachers in the books, marketed by different textbook boards," a disturbed bookseller at a main book shop in Urdu Bazar said.
The parents demanded books published during 2003 and earlier, particularly those of Urdu, Social Studies and Islamiat, while returning the new and revised books of the Sindh Textbook Board, he said.
The booksellers, who were in possession of old stocks, entertained some of the parents, but those who had already exhausted the old stock were unable to pacify the parents and students. Now we had started selling new curricula books to students with the condition that those would not be taken back or exchanged at any cost, Syed Zafarul Hasan of a book house in Urdu Bazar pointed out.
As per STB's initial review, there were at least three titles for school students with objectionable materials, which had already been marketed and sold to the students, market sources said, adding that, however, till date the board had failed to issue any official corrigendum in this regard.
In the meantime, it was learnt that Sindh governor and chief secretary had also asked the provincial education department to submit a detailed note on the textbook situation, including the reasons for STB's failure to come up to people's expectations.
One of the listed publishers said that the STB chairman was not in contact and he had shut his cellular phone as well, while there were host of unanswered questions pertaining to erroneous books, free distribution textbooks and supply of printing paper, lurking in the minds of concerned quarters.
It was learnt that Islamabad had asked the STB as well to restore the contents, which existed in older book editions, but were omitted from the latest ones. The board has also been asked to expurgate the words, sentences and paragraphs included in the new books, which have caused concern among the people.
This year, the STB launched over a dozen of revised or modified titles, meant for teaching at different levels in schools as "test edition".
However, a market source said that the STB had to adopt the idea of "test editions" only to pacify the Federal Curriculum Wing of the government, which eventually failed to give clearance to many of the STB manuscripts within the stipulated time.The STB tried its utmost till the first week of March, 2004, but was not accorded any clearance, the source added.
The changes are due in the revised books of "Muashrati Uloom" of classes III, IV, V, VIII, Urdu of Class VII, Biology of Classes, IX, X, XI and XII and Physics of class XI.
Talking about the problem in Class VIII's Social Studies book, an official of the Education department said that at least one whole page of the book was needed to be reviewed and rectified.
The chairman of the Pakistan Publishers and Booksellers' Association, Aziz Khalid, commented that the textbook issue had become a political issue, for which the curriculum authorities at Islamabad could be blamed solely.
Another veteran textbook publisher claimed that the problem had emerged due to a conspiracy of "book mafia," which had been working consistently for the abolishment of textbook boards and eventual collapse of local publishing industry.
The local book market also caters to the needs of students enrolled at institutions affiliated with the federal board or other, which prescribe books published by the Punjab Textbook Board.