Tour for pleasure or for knowledge?

We are concerned at the news that a 22-member delegation is due to visit three countries, ostensibly for the purpose of, what has been described as, eliciting knowledge on 'publishing technology and textbook development.' The delegation is made up of 15 MPs, who will no longer hold office after three months, and ten of the government officials in the team are due to retire this year, the rest, being on deputation may be posted out any time. Interestingly, the delegation has but one member of the National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB). That being the composition, it cannot but raise one's eyebrows at the purpose of this exercise that will cost the public 50 lakh taka, and one couldn't be faulted for thinking that it is the pleasure and not 'education' that is the major motivation of the tour.

For one thing, the fund, budgeted last year, as we understand, has already lapsed, and if the government is really serious about enhancing the standard of our textbooks one wonders what is the role of the lawmakers in this regard, leaving aside the fact that they would cease to be so in three months; and what contribution would be made by those officials in the delegation, who are due to retire shortly? Commonsense suggests that it would have been more appropriate and relevant for NCTB, officials who are primarily responsible for textbook publication, and from whose kitty the money is being spent, to have made up the bulk of the delegation. For another, we are not certain whether we do not have enough expertise in country to ensure that good quality textbooks are provided to the students, both in their substance and their production. And in so far as the substance of textbooks is concerned, foreign visits may provide very little help to enhance their quality, which depends primarily on the quality of the writer.

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Would the government reconsider its decision and save 50 lakh taka going waste?