Approved textbooks
Photo: Tanvir Ahmed / Driknews
Sometime back in the “The Star Campus”, The Daily Star published an article on the “State of Science Education in Bangladesh: Current Status and Future Trends.” The material for this write-up was generated from a Round Table Conference jointly organised by The Daily Star and the Bangladesh Academy of Sciences. While agreeing with most of the viewpoints expressed in that conference by the eminent scientists of the country, I will focus on one major factor; i.e., lack of good textbooks that, in my opinion is one of the reasons why the students are gradually losing interest in science. To illustrate my point I will discuss about one textbook that I came across the other day. The name of the book is: “Paribesh Parichiti Bigyan,” prescribed for Class V by the National Curriculum and Textbook Board. Since I am basically a biologist, being a Botany teacher in Dhaka University, I read with a good deal of interest, the first two chapters of the book, namely, Chapter 1 and II which begin from page 1 through 17. The two chapters contain 11 pictures. None of the pictures were correctly drawn without any regard to the proportions of different parts of the plant body. For instance, in fig 1, the buds have been shown to be much larger than the leaves. A Cycas plant looks like a coconut tree; a fern plant closely resembles a flowering herb. Marigold, jasmine, gardenia cannot be recognized by their drawings. They look like a combination of a lotus and a flower of similar shape combined. The rootless moss plant has been shown to have true roots and in size shown much smaller than a regular fern plant. The picture does not create that impression in the mind a student about a fern plant vis-à-vis a moss plant. The picture about grafting/cloning does not give a true idea about “kolom”. It's at best an example of vegetable multiplication. Attractive Textbooks are the NEED of the day. Early in the 1960's, some American top educationists realized that the textbooks followed in high schools were out of date in view of the rapid progress and advancements in every branch of science: mathematics, chemistry, physics, and biology. In order to face that challenge, they recruited top class scientists in the above disciplines and assigned them the task of writing three versions of textbooks: Green, Yellow and Blue. Among other disciplines, the outcome of such an endeavour was the publication of three textbooks in biology: Biological Science: Molecules to Man (1963), Biological Science: An Inquiry into Life (1963), High School Biology (1963). Although written with a different emphasis, the three versions were all aimed at emphasizing the importance of inquiry to both classroom learning and scientific research. All the three textbooks were released in 1963 as hardcover after being tested with students and revised in the light of feedback from the students and reviewers alike. My disappointment prompted me to contact the Chairman of the National Curriculum and Textbook Board. He listened to me carefully over the telephone. To verify what I was saying he took out the specific book and opened the pages containing the figures I was referring to. He immediately realized the gravity of the situation and assured me that he would soon embark upon a project on publishing accurately illustrated well-written textbooks for which he said adequate funding would be available. Our approach toward implementing such a project within a minimum possible time will have to be radically different from the current government procedure. Whether non-resident Bangladeshis or local experts, a number of them need to be hired with the following terms: a) with the help of a graphic artist, two of the team members would prepare an illustrated draft of each chapter prescribed in the syllabus, b) review them in pre-determined periodic sessions with a minimum of three experts, c) approve the final draft on individual chapters, d) submit the final draft to the copy-editor. Such an academic team of experts need to have the support of an efficient secretarial staff with 24 hours Internet connectivity not interrupted by load shedding. If the Textbook Board wants to publish attractive textbooks, the present system of getting them printed through tenders cannot be followed. The necessary rule governing printing may have to be relaxed. In order that the authors can pay undivided attention without being interrupted by any kind of diversion, they may be put up in a self-contained resort away from the city so that they can finish their assignment within the allotted time, say three months. A number of such resorts are now available on rent. About the cost of such textbooks, a part of may be subsidized by the Ministry of Education, GoB. I am not in favour of hiring foreign experts not familiar with our flora, fauna and educational environment. In the past hiring of foreign experts for this purpose did not produce any fruitful results. What I have suggested is nothing new. It is the standard practice in many countries where quality and accurate educational material have been delivered to the students within minimum possible time.
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