Hate for none: ‘Textbooks should promote harmony’

PESHAWAR:

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Textbook Board chairman Qaiser Alam has said textbooks should be inclusive and promote peace and harmony and not widen fissures between communities.

Speaking at a training session put together by Peace Education and Development Foundation, Alam said the government has a responsibility towards the minorities and the textbook writers and reviewers should keep this in mind.

Also speaking on the occasion, PEAD Executive Director Sameena Imtiaz concurred with Alam. She said textbooks should promote concepts of equal rights, critical thinking and inclusivity. “There is great room for improvement in school curricula.” Imtiaz said PEAD will soon launch a review of the province’s textbooks issued between 2002 and 2015.

Board member Muhammad Mutahir asked attendees to prepare model lessons for students in three subjects – Urdu, Social Studies and English, keeping inclusivity and harmony in mind. The produced lessons will be improved and shared with the board as recommendations for upcoming books.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 3^rd,  2015.