Experts push for critical thinking in textbooks

Educationists, scholars, and writers stressed the importance of including lessons in school textbooks that contribute to the moral development, knowledge enhancement, and critical thinking skills of students during the first meeting of the curriculum review committee. The meeting was held on Wednesday to evaluate educational textbooks on the directives of Sindh's Minister for Education Syed Sardar Ali Shah.

Attendees also emphasised the need for content to reflect effective language use, social responsibility, collective thinking, and rational perspectives. A proposal was made to develop guiding principles to achieve these goals, noting that Students' Learning Outcomes (SLOs) should be aligned with the text.

The meeting was chaired by Sindh Textbook Board Chairman Parvez Ahmed Baloch. After reviewing the 12th-grade Sindhi textbook, experts shared their observations and suggested revisions in line with contemporary educational needs.

Writer Jami Chandio noted that improving textbooks is a continuous process that must be sustained. Although he pointed out thematic imbalances in the current 12th-grade Sindhi textbook, he praised its content quality as superior to that of textbooks from other provinces.