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Ludhiana education department grilled for not providing textbooks
The local education officials were grilled for not providing textbooks to the students enrolled with the government schools in the district during a meeting with ADC (general) Rahul Chaba and the members of Sikhya Sudhar Committee, Ludhiana, on Friday
The local education officials were grilled for not providing textbooks to the students enrolled with the government schools in the district during a meeting with ADC (general) Rahul Chaba and the members of Sikhya Sudhar Committee, Ludhiana, on Friday.
The Punjab School Education Board students, who are yet to receive the NCERT textbooks, are left with no other option but to buy subject guides as there’s hardly any time left for the commencement of their final board exams. Their families are bearing the financial brunt of the delay in textbook distribution.
Meanwhile, district education officer Lakhbir Singh Samra cited the record of the surplus books with the department during the meeting. Jatinder Saluja, a member of the Sikhya Sudhar Committee, countered his claims by naming the schools where the students are still waiting to get the books.
“It is strange that with exams around the corner, the students are yet to get the books from the education department. The DEO showed us the list of surplus books, but I know many students in schools including, Kot Mangal Singh GHS, who have not got them,” said Saluja.
Many students, who had migrated from private schools to government schools, didn’t get complete sets of books.
An education department official said that books on a few subjects including maths and science are required in the schools.
“We have surplus books on many subjects, but we require more science and maths books. We have sought surplus books from the other districts. The books will soon be distributed as per the requirement,” he added. The committee members also condemned the DEO for not taking any action against the leakage of question papers of the PSEB mid-term examination for Classes 6 to 12 last month. He said the matter concerned the state, and he was not authorized to take any action.
The DEO further said that he has already informed the higher authorities regarding the same.
The issue of shortage of teachers in government schools was also flagged. The committee members suggested that the teachers should be transferred from the schools where there are more of them to schools with a shortage of staff. Meanwhile, the ADC directed the block officers to carry the data of the requirements in the schools located in their respective blocks in the next meeting scheduled next month.
