Amid shortage of JKBOSE textbooks, SED banks on used books
Srinagar, Feb 12: Amid the shortage of the JK Board of School Education (BOSE) textbooks, the School Education Department (SED) is relying on the used textbooks of last year and previous to previous years of the students in government schools.
The department is in crisis as only 20 percent textbooks have been distributed by the JKBOSE till date while the schools are scheduled to reopen from March this year post winter vacations.
An official said that the Department has issued strict instructions to all the Chief Education Officers (CEOs) and Zonal Education Officers (ZEOs) to ensure that the previous year's used textbooks are retrieved from the students and distributed among the students during the current academic session.
Earlier, the director School Education Kashmir (DSEK) G N Itoo while referring to the winter tutorials said that around 200 tutorials were set up during winter vacation which benefited over 30000 students.
"The heads of the schools utilised the previous year's used books preserved in their institutions," Itoo earlier said. He also appreciated the school heads for preserving the old used books in the schools.
Meanwhile, the official said that the department has kept all CEOs on toes and is seeking daily updates regarding the status of retrieval of old used textbooks from students.
"The supply of new books from JKBOSE is yet to be received but to overcome the shortage and avoid any public outcry, the government is banking on old books to mitigate the crises," an official said.
A top official said that like previous years, the department is in crisis due to the delay in distribution of textbooks. "Last year, schools received textbooks in May and June and later exams were held in November. So, the condition of last year's books is somehow good because the supply was received very late and exams were held early after the government restored the November session in schools," the official said.
"But the department should understand that the condition of the textbooks distributed among students two years ago is not good," the official said. The official said that in 2024 the schools had to rely on previous years old used textbooks given the delay in distribution and those books are not in conditions to be used this year. "The main problem is that teachers cannot retrieve textbooks at this time as schools are closed," a teacher posted in north Kashmir district told Greater Kashmir.
The teachers from various districts said that only 20 percent of fresh textbooks have been supplied by JKBOSE till date. "But the unfortunate part is that the government is trying to create a false situation to portray a normal situation and give an impression that there is no shortage of textbooks. They want to distribute old textbooks among the students," the teacher said.
A top official in SED said the exercise is going on for the last many days and all CEOs and ZEOs besides the school heads have been asked to retrieve the old textbooks from the students.
Apart from this, the department is seeking book wise details from the ZEOs and Heads of the Institutions (HoIs) to ascertain if the students received all the books during the last year and previous years as well. "Till the 100 percent supply of JKBOSE textbooks is received, the department is mulling to utilise the old used books to overcome the shortage," the official said.
As already reported, DSEK GN Itoo claimed that 60 percent supply of textbooks was already done and the department will ensure that 100 percent books are available after schools reopen post winter vacation. "If the need arises, we will utilise the old used books available in schools," G N Itoo said.
