"Meaningful" Educational Reforms!

Daily Times, August 2, 2006
Musharraf’s message replaces Mr Jinnah’s in Punjab textbooks
Punjab Textbook Board chairman holds former chairman responsible for error
By Afnan Khan

LAHORE: Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s messages to the nation have been replaced by messages from President Pervez Musharraf and Punjab Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi in almost all the latest editions of books approved and published by the Punjab Textbook Board.

A Daily Times survey has found that messages of the Quaid, which were printed on the first and second pages and sometimes in the end had been replaced by messages from Musharraf and Elahi. Punjab Textbook Board Chairman Jehangir Aziz has held former board chairman Saleem Akhtar Kayani responsible for the error, saying the board had planned to replace the current messages with those by Mr Jinnah.

Daily Times also found that the English book for 10th grade, published in January 2000, quoted Mr Jinnah as saying, “You must devote yourself whole-heartedly to your studies, for that is your first obligation to yourself.”

The matriculation book of Pakistan Studies, published in March 1997, quoted the Quaid as saying, “Pakistan’s progress will require at least as much effort and sacrifice as its creation.”

The latest versions of books published by the Punjab Textbook Board do not carry the Quaid’s messages, but carry Musharraf’s messages by saying, “The progress and development of a country depends on the quality of education of its people. It is a historical fact that the Muslims ruled the world for hundreds of years on the basis of the knowledge acquired by their intellectuals, philosophers and scientists. The books written by them were of such a high standard that they served as reference books in Western universities for centuries. As long as the Muslims acted upon the Hadith ‘to acquire knowledge is the duty of each Muslim man and woman’ they ruled the world. Our curriculum in the past was not in concert with the requirements of modern times. I am pleased to note that the government has not only given importance to the sovereignty and security of the country, but also taken steps for the improvement of the quality of education and curriculum to bring it in tune with the latest standards. Keeping in view these requirements, the textbooks have been developed, revised and updated.”

Elahi’s message says, “The progress in education is at its peak in the present day. The quality of education is the main distinction of the developed nations. To achieve excellence in quality education, the curriculum and textbooks play the basic role. Placing main emphasis on modernisation of curriculum and textbooks proves beyond any doubt the priority given by my government to the education sector.” Daily Times has found that some books even carried pictures of Musharraf and Elahi along with the text.

The Punjab Textbook Board chairman said he had noticed the error in books published by the board and had planned to omit the messages of Musharraf and Elahi from books to be published in 2007-08. He said the board considered Mr Jinnah as the father of the nation and founder of Pakistan and that nobody could have committed the act deliberately. He said the exclusion of Mr Jinnah’s messages was human error, which would be corrected as soon as possible.

He also said the board had little say in matters of curriculum and that major policies were decided by the curriculum wing of the Education Ministry. He said the board was working to promote education and development and had nothing to do with politics.