Sindh Textbook Board secretary sent packing

Board failed to complete distribution of free books at govt schools six months into academic year

KARACHI:

Sindh Textbook Board (STBB), responsible for publishing free textbooks for government-run schools, has wasted half of the academic year of millions of students across the province.

Even six months after the start of the academic year, STBB failed to supply the textbooks to all government schools and the process is still going on.

Owning to the administrative failure, the School Education and Literacy Department (SELD) has issued notification to remove STBB Secretary Nusrat Parveen Sahito and appointed Sindh Education Policy Commission Additional Director Professor Hafeezullah Mahar in her place. SELD Secretary Shereen Mustafa stated in the notice that Nusrat Sahito has been repatriated to College Education Department.

The board has also proposed transfer of STB Chairman Agha Suhail Ahmed Pathan, however, the matter is pending with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) which has yet to approve the transfer. The reshuffle at the top follows failure of the STB to timely distribute textbooks to schoolchildren.

Furthermore, SELD has also ordered to cancellation of a controversial tender notice issued by STB for the procurement of books.

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According to a letter issued by the General Administration Department of the SELD, the tender did not adhere to Sindh Public Procurement Regulation Authority (SPPRA) rules and regulations.

According to SELD Secretary Shereen Mustafa, the STBB chairman failed to provide books for the current school year at the schools. There might be a book scarcity in the coming academic year if the ECP does not authorize the transfer in a timely manner.

STBB Chairman Agha Suhail Ahmed, on the other hand, stated that the tender with the old publisher was cancelled due to the delay in the delivery of the books and also suggested legal action against the publisher.

He said that the printing of books was completed in a short period of time, and the books were distributed in the schools on the orders of the caretaker chief minister of Sindh.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 7^th, 2023.