Editorial
Errors in textbooks
Take corrective action as early as possible
THE issue of school textbooks being full of factual, grammatical and spelling errors is serious enough to have drawn the attention of all concerned long ago. Unfortunately, the books are being published year after year with the same glaring mistakes that can only misinform, mislead and confuse the young learners. The reports carried by the daily Prothom Alo have shed light on this very important issue.
The mistakes and errors are appalling in some cases. It is universally accepted that the knowledge of history helps the learners to understand contemporary issues, but how will they equip themselves with such knowledge when the textbooks contain unpardonable and explicable errors in the biographies of eminent writers of the past?
It is often said that the students don't show much enthusiasm about our history and politics. There may be truth in it, but whatever interest they have in all such subjects is likely to be dampened by the misleading information supplied by the textbooks. Moreover, there are spelling mistakes and grammatically inaccurate sentences which can cause much consternation to those who still care about proper learning.
If it is surprising that textbooks prepared by the NCTB under the supervision of a panel of experts could be fraught with errors and inaccuracies, what is even more surprising is that those mistakes have never been detected, let alone eliminated. Obviously, the experts never bothered to check whether the textbooks were written correctly. And it is the students who suffered for their callousness and insensitivity.
Some academicians have expressed their concern over the poorly written and edited textbooks. We cannot but agree with their general observation that the nation will have to pay a high price for such lapses. It is indeed a matter of shame that our school textbooks are of very low quality which calls into question the efficiency of not only the NCTB but also the efficacy of the education system as a whole.
The Chief Adviser is reported to have asked for an explanation from the NCTB as to how the textbooks could contain such gross mistakes and inaccuracies. The government, we believe, should delve deep into the matter and adopt such measures as will eliminate the mistakes from the school textbooks. Meanwhile replace the flawed texts because it is not too late into the academic session. We have to realise that here we are dealing with a matter having a direct bearing on the future of education in the country.
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