The annual Punjab University Book Fair largely remained a well thought out affair but visitors faced few problems the administration needs to address to make the event hassle-free in future.
Like last year, the PU administration managed to keep the Islami Jamiat Tulaba (IJT) activists away from organisational matters. They however made occasional appearances and in a rather ridiculous act performed a ceremony well before the formal opening by Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah.
That 100,616,000 books (according to the official count) were sold at the three-day fair is in itself no mean achievement and speaks of the public interest. Thousands of people, mostly students, visited the varsity corridors as a ritual and made the most of bargains – up to 50 per cent discounts.
The students at the reception desk guided people who thronged the book fair. The management faced problems in stoppingpeople at the scheduled closing time and sending those already inside the fair venue out.
Another heartening fact, according to organisers and booksellers, was that people bought children’s books in great number.
Many university teachers said it was a highly positive trend in society that parents brought their children to book fairs and helped promote a healthy activity. “This trend will impact positively on younger generation,” said Prof Dr Hafiz Muhammad Iqbal, dean faculty of education at the PU.
The fair also had a large representation of Islamic books. Visitors also showed keen interest in the models of Masjid-i-Nabvi, Madina City and Ghazwa-i-Badr battlefield.
The PU administration said ‘massive advertisement’ like hoisting of flyers and streamers on city roads also attracted students and the general public. During the closing hours on the third day, several booksellers offered books at throwaway prices to dispose of the maximum stuff.
In order to reduce congestion, the varsity administration had decided not to place book stalls on both sides of the main corridor but one side and corridors of other departments were used. The lawns were used to set up stalls for eatables.
Many visitors still complained that unusual rush of people and the students’ focus on some particular stalls selling fiction and poetry did not allow them to browse books, one of the main purposes of a book fair. They suggested the university should select spacious lawn or any other facility to accommodate the rush around 150 stalls.
Another suggestion was that the discounts should be rationalised by offering maximum cut prices on latest titles. Some sellers offered old and used books especially novels at prices as low as Rs50 and Rs100 but many books remained unaffordable for most visitors.
Yet another problem, according to some visitors, was the confusion about the schedule. A book fair should be open to all on all days, they said.
It is learnt that PU Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Mujahid Kamran announced that he would organise another book fair in September or October, first time two fairs would be held in a year.
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THE City School organised an international conference on “The search for creativity, remedial and innovative ideas for 21st century education” in the past week. The speakers called for making drastic reforms besides implementing creative and innovative ideas in the education sector to meet modern-day challenges.
PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal stressed the need to adopt a vision that could pull the nation out of the crisis. He also stressed that the youth should equip themselves with information technology knowledge.
Educationist Dr Syeda Arifa said all politicians should unite on a single agenda of promoting education. She also called for character building of the students.
The City School’s Dr Farzana Feroze said Pakistan was allocating quite low budget for education unlike many other countries which were progressing at a fast pace. She also urged the government to support the private sector in education. — mansoormalik173@hotmail.com