Teachers will be the only guides in Punjab’s government schools! For, the Punjab State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) has initiated the move to close the book on guides and keep private publishers out of schools.
Punjab SCERT, in its latest cicular, has issued strict directions to all the District Education Officers (DEOs) and all school heads or principals to prohibit the entry of private publishers and their books too in the state’s government schools.
The SCERT director has also warned the school heads or principals of strict action in case the directions were not complied with.
The directions came after observing that many schools teachers have been using guides or help books to teach the students which is a matter of grave concern.
SCERT director, in the circular, underlined the need to inculcate and encourage the habit of reading textbooks among the students for their intellectual and mental development.
“Thus, all the school heads or principals are hereby directed to ensure that no private publisher would enter within the school premises and no teacher would use any sample help book or gift from the publishers,” read the circular.
“There is a trend among the teachers regarding the use of guides or help books. Even some publishers also give free samples of books to the teachers in schools which they use for teaching purposes. Seeing them, students too follow their teachers and buy guides or help books to cram the already-prepared answers,” a senior Education Department official told The Pioneer, adding that the prevailing system is affecting intellect level of government school student.
The directions assumed significance as the private publishers are running business, running into crores, across the state with the help of the government teachers.