Missing textbooks

Students at government schools across Sindh face yet another setback, threaten­ing their educational prospects. Reports of textbook shortages emerged just days after the academic year commenced. Officials of the Sindh Textbook Board (STBB), Jamshoro, claim they delivered the books to the warehouse of the Sindh Education and Literacy Department for free distribution among government school children. Still, the education department of­ficials say their warehouses were empty and STBB has yet to deliver the books.

English medium schools have not received any books, whereas Urdu and Sindhi medium schools have received 30% books. Without adequate course material, teachers and students find themselves in limbo. Parents and students held protests in several districts, but their calls seem to have fallen on deaf ears as the Secretary of Education has yet to comment on the situation. Most children enrolled in government schools belong to underprivileged backgrounds; it is rather cruel to deprive these children of their right to education and an opportunity to improve their future due to a political tussle. While other provinces are looking into ways to modernise education by incor­porating information technology into curriculums, Sindh’s schools remain stuck in the dark ages because of rampant corruption and nepotism, administrative negligence and political manoeuvring.

More often than not, the students and their families are blamed for the poor educational outcomes in Sindh. However, the textbook shortage is another proof of the callousness of the provincial authorities. Besides urgently resolving the ongoing issue, all concerned de­partments need to act responsibly and earnestly instead of toying with the future of thousands of students. Students should be facilitated in the best possible way to enhance their knowledge, creativity and skills in­stead of having to focus their energies on futile issues.