JKBOSE's copy-paste blunder: ‘Fainting a UT of human body’ sparks ridicule
Srinagar Feb 16: The Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education (JKBOSE) has invited ridicule for a copy-paste change in a Class 10 textbook soon after a video went viral on social media.
This comes amid a crisis over acute shortage of textbooks ahead of the reopening of the schools in Kashmir after winter vacations.
The BOSE textbook titled "Disaster Management and Road Safety Education" has come under scanner after a video expose on how the BOSE's textbook division has replaced the word "state" with UT after J&K was downgraded to a Union Territory in 2019.
However, much to the shock and surprise of students and teachers, the changed word "state" includes the "state" related to "state of affairs" rather than State as an administrative entity.
The textbook titled "Disaster Management and Road Safety Education" is also available on the official website of JKBOSE for reading by students for the current academic session, has brought the lackadaisical attitude of the BOSE's academic division to the fore.
As the issue came to limelight, the observers criticised the BOSE as well as the editorial board of the textbook in question for gross negligence.
As a policy matter, the JKBOSE constitutes an editorial board for proof reading of the content before the textbook goes for printing. But the textbook has been approved without any proof reading by the Board.
"The JKBOSE brags about the quality but this time the Board stands exposed as the books are below standard," a senior lecturer told Greater Kashmir.
Such glaring mistakes have come to fore at a time when the JKBOSE has issued strict directions to all the private schools to adopt JK Board prescribed textbooks or face derecognition.
The JKBOSE has been claiming of maintaining the quality of the paper as well as the content.
"Not to talk of the paper quality, but the JKBOSE has been exposed as it has failed to maintain quality of the content," an official said.
The glaring mistake has not been pointed out at only one spot but at three spots in two pages-Page 29 and 30 of the textbook.
In the unit IV of the textbook titled Disaster management and Community participation, on its Page 29 has a topic on Fainting and Loosing Conscience. In this topic, the contents of the book read that the unconsciousness and fainting is a UT of Human Body. In this line the editorial board has replaced the state of human body with UT of human Body.
On the next page, the book reads that this UT (which has been replaced with instead of state) can lead to death of the victim if no immediate first aid is provided. In the next line, the UT word instead of state is again repeated as well.
Sharply reacting to the contents, the observers said that JKBOSE immediately needs "first aid" to avoid such "blunders."
Former education minister and senior PDP Leader Naeem Akhtar expressed concern over the issue saying that the State is downgraded to UT and so is English language in our BOSE books prescribed for schools. "It's a Tragicomedy that we are living," he wrote on X.
Interestingly, the Foreword of the textbook reads that the JKBOSE was perpetually striving to upgrade the school curriculum and courses of the studies exclusively in the light of NEP-2020.
"The review and revision exercise of a book is a perpetual activity to imbibe the concept of modern needs and challenges with a view to witness a competent, capable and diligent posterity," it reads.
The foreword further reads that the components of the Economics, Disaster Management and Road Safety Education has been developed and made available by the "virtue of vigorous efforts of the subject experts" through a series of workshops and interactions.
Director Academics JKBOSE Dr Sudhir Singh in his acknowledgment has said that every effort has been made to offer the instructional material for the "budding scholars" in accordance with the ongoing contemporary challenges to enable them to gain knowledge of economics and other topics incorporated in this textbook.
The contents of the textbook have been finalised under the supervision of the Textbook Development Committee headed Director Disaster management Jammu University by Prof. S K Pandita as Chief Advisor while the committee members include Dr Ravinder kumar Jangral Lecturer at GGHSS Mubarak Mandi, Nisha Bhagat Teacher at GHS Gajansoo Jammu, Suresh Kumar Gouria Research Officer SIE Jammu, Atul Jain teacher GGHSS Bishnah and Ranjeet Singh Manhas Lecturer DSE Jammu.
Director Academics JKBOSE was not available for comment on the issue.
