Daily Times

While reading the introduction of a book by KK Aziz titled The murder of history (published in 1993), I was shocked at how historical facts have been transformed and misinterpreted in the text books taught across Pakistan.

After the 18th Amendment, school curriculums and textbooks were delegated to the respective text boards of the provinces. Though this was a positive initiative, the issue of capacity was a major challenge. Provincial governments are trying their best, using various incentives and initiatives. Regardless, the quality of Pakistani textbooks remains questionable. The National Curriculum 2007 is a very comprehensive document, but as per international standards, the curriculum needs to be reviewed after every five years. We haven’t even thought of this after ten years, although there has been news that at the federal level, a new curriculum is introduced at the primary level for some subjects.

Referring to Diwali, a Grade 2 textbook states, “it is celebrated on the onset of the new year”. This is wrong. Diwali is actually celebrated to mark the victorious return of King Rama to Ayodhiya after exile. Similarly, the book says that the Sikh festival of Baisakhi is held in the memory of Baba Guru Nanak, when the truth is that it marks the New Year and the commemoration of Khalsa Panth Warriors under Guru Gobind Singh

No matter which educational system a child is a part of in this country, the text book is the only source of knowledge used by the student or the teacher. Considering how schools in this country like to load children’s backs with heavy school bags, the general perception seems to be that the more books a child is forced to study the better. What is missed out on the quality of the books and the qualifications of the writer.

When it comes to the growing intolerance and hate speech in our society, it is the Madaris which are always blamed. But are the people who write the textbooks for our private and public schools any better in this regard? Do they have the essential skills to prepare objective based lesson plans? Are they inculcating the core values of respect, tolerance, acceptance and inclusion?

Textbook preparation is a lengthy and complicated procedure. It involves writers, publishers, boards and the directorate of curriculum. These parties are tasked with ensuring that the end product is free of errors and in compliance with the guidelines and learning objectives set by the national curriculum. Though there has been much improvement in the superficial quality of books, a critical examination reveals that issues which were highlighted in 1993 still haven’t been addressed. Look at the Grade 2 general knowledge book from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) book for instance.

The book consists of 24 lessons, each of which has some teaching objectives at the beginning. A standard lesson plan of any subject shouldn’t have more than three — or at the maximum, four learning objectives — ideally for conducive learning. However, looking at the lessons of general knowledge each lesson is with a variance in learning objectives and some of the lessons have five, seven, eight and even ten learning objectives. A child in grade two is really receptive to new ideas and concepts but still the attention and retention span matters as well. Setting of seven eight learning targets can lead students nowhere. Since the book has been written by four different writers, maybe each one has been setting targets accordingly. Inclusion is a value which needs to be incorporated in students’ early years, preferably in primary education. However, the very first chapter talks about memorizing the first Kalima followed by other Islamic verses. The same books carry the activities of memorising the verses for fasting and Sura-e-Kausar. The authors seem to assume that only Muslim students are studying in our schools. Isn’t this a violation of students’ constitutional rights?

Moving ahead, the quality of language is also far from satisfactory. Chapter 6 of the aforementioned textbook uses the phrase ‘used to’ ten times on one page to narrate village life.  Urdu words are also used in the curriculum, which is set in English. This clearly indicates what kind of language skills the writer has.

The book also takes other religions far too lightly. Referring to Diwali, the book quotes “it is celebrated on the onset of the new year”. This is wrong. Diwali is actually celebrated to mark the victorious return of King Rama to Ayodhiya after exile. Similarly, the book says that the Sikh festival of Baisakhi is held in the memory of Baba Guru Nanak, when the truth is that it marks the New Year and the commemoration of Khalsa Panth Warriors under Guru Gobind Singh. It is strange that no means of verification have been used here even though they are just a click away. Last but not the least, in a chapter about forgiving a naughty child, the naughty child is named Tony. Tony isn’t a Muslim name, and its use in this manner creates a bias among young students about Christians. These are just a few examples showing the state of our curriculum.

Inculcating respect for other cultures, ethnicities, as well as women and girls must be mandatory objectives for our curriculum. Primary years of education are the most formative years for a student’s mind after all, and can have a long term impact on the student’s personality. Therefore it is extremely short sighted and irresponsible to allow textbook writers to use unverified information. Their language skills must also be looked into, and a sense of cultural sensitivity must be inculcated in them before they are given this great responsibility. It is never too late to reform a system. All that is needed is the will to do so.

The writer has experience in the field of education and is currently working as a resource person in the development sector

Published in Daily Times, July 4^th 2018.