Students in the dark as books not ready

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The students of class IX are in the dark about their studies as the government after announcing new question method for 2010 SSC examinations and onwards has neither published new textbooks nor trained up teachers.

The newly introduced question pattern called ‘Structured Question’ (SQ) was supposed to take effect from 2009 as per a decision taken in 2006. But the government deferred it for one year giving the National Curriculum and Textbooks Board (NCTB) another year to publish a new set of books.

The deferment came in the wake of concerns from the then class IX students, guardians and teachers, who found it impossible to go with the new system without new books.

Students and teachers have expressed deep concern about SQ system saying its samples provide them with no clues as to how they can prepare for the examinations.

The present class IX textbooks contain only a model question in the end, very insufficient for both students and teachers to get a clear idea about real questions.

Students traditionally prepare themselves on the basis of chapter-wise questions, but the SQ method offers a variety of questions aiming at improving students’ learning quality.

Under this system, examinees will have to answer several bits of information on a single topic. There will be 60 marks for structured questions instead of 50 marks now mandatory for essay-type questions and 40 marks for multiple-choice questions.

However, the new system will not be applicable for both the papers of English and Bangla second paper.

Education ministry sources say about 90 percent teachers are still clueless about SQ method scheduled to be introduced from the 2010 Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examinations.

Of the 10 percent who received training, some even cannot answer the worried students’ questions, as the two-day training programme was not adequate, teachers and guardians allege.

Moreover, NCTB was supposed to introduce SQ based textbooks this year. NCTB officials told The Daily Star the students will have to wait for one more year for the books.

The education ministry sources say the students who are now in class IX would get to see structured questions and distribution of marks instead of the existing questions.

“Students will have to wait only one year for getting fresh SQ enlisted textbooks. Now one model question pattern was added in the end of the textbooks so that they can gather ideas about SQ method,” said NCTB Chairman Prof Dr M Masir Uddin.

However, most students have failed to gather any clear idea about the new method examining only one model question, teachers and guardians observe. They also don’t know how they would prepare themselves for the SSC exams in one year after getting fresh books in class X.

“As a teacher I couldn’t clearly understand the SQ method. How will I impart knowledge about it to my students?” said Prof Rafiqa Afroz, principal of Ispahani Girls’ School and College.

Only two out of 70 teachers in the educational institution received training on SQ method, she added.

“I was panicked when I realised that I couldn’t work out the method seeing the only model question available. Our teachers also couldn’t tell us anything clearly about the new question pattern,” said ABM Raihat Rahman Joy, a student of class IX at Motijheel Ideal School and College.

“Most of my class mates are still in the dark about the SQ system.”

“The system might be better. But students have no clear idea about it due to a lack of new textbooks,” said Iyasmin Ara, whose daughter studies at Viqarunnisa Noon School.

“Besides, class IX students get the system out of the blue which is very difficult for them at this level,” she added.

This year, NCTB did not take proper measures to print new textbooks allegedly to get benefits from a syndicate of printing houses.

Allegations are rife that a clique of dishonest printing press owners led by top leaders of Bangladesh Printing Industries Association (BPIA) illegally printed a huge number of additional textbooks last year couldn’t sell several lakh of those.

“Around 20 lakh traditional textbooks remained in store. The BPIA president himself had around five lakh old textbooks. For this reason these printing owners bribed the top NCTB officials for not publishing the fresh textbooks,” a former leader of BPIA told The Daily Star.

The NCTB chairman denied the allegation and said his officials and employees were not influenced by anyone.

“New SQ textbooks were not published because many books were washed away due to floods and cyclone Sidr and affected students would have to buy old books again,” he said.

“The decision of not publishing the Structured Question pattern textbooks was made in January last year. But I took the charge as the NCTB chairman in August. So I was not involved in this decision,” he told The Daily Star.

However, leaders of Bangladesh Publishers and Booksellers Association (BPBA) said NCTB did not publish new textbooks for the benefit of some dishonest printing press owners.

“We held several meetings with NCTB top officials in October and November last year and assured them that we could provide 23 new textbooks with SQ exercises in 15 days. But NCTB did not pay heed to our assurances,” M Abu Taher, president of BPBA, told The Daily Star.

He also said NCTB would have got additional royalty if officers agreed to the proposal.

Guardians of students from different renowned high schools meanwhile formed a human chain at different places in the capital a few days ago demanding deferment of the system once again.

They demanded that the caretaker government introduce the SQ method from class VI instead of class IX so that students can be familiar with it at an early stage.

“Only 10 percent teachers were trained up about the SQ method and even most of the trained teachers could not understand it clearly,” said Utpalla Bhattacharya, mother of a student of class IX at Motijheel Ideal School and College.

NCTB Chairman Prof Masir also agreed that the SQ method should be introduced from class six instead of class nine.

“We’ve trained up 8,800 teachers on SQ method under Secondary Education Sector Development Project (SESDP). It is true that many teachers did not understand it clearly because it is very difficult to make question rather than answer,” he added.

Ministry sources say the introduction of structured questions is a component of a Tk-793 crore SESD project.

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