TIB says NCTB changed textbook contents under communal pressure

The National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) has altered the contents of several textbooks under pressure from fundamentalist groups, a transparency watchdog has said. The NCTB faced much criticism over changing the contents and illustrations in textbooks for the primary and secondary levels, allegedly in line with demands from fundamentalist religious groups. Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) said on Monday that it had found that the textbook authority had no clear policy or guideline for formulating curricula and textbooks and has been operating for decades without any rules. There were 16 changes in the contents of textbooks at primary and secondary levels in 2016. Political and ideological influence of a certain group was visible in the contents of textbooks, the study revealed. Of them, 11 omitted poems were the ones that a fundamentalist group wanted removed. TIB found that poems had been edited, there were numerous misspellings and mismatched illustrations. In 2012, two poems were removed from textbooks for class 9 and 10, because a high ranking government employee wanted to add his own poem. For this he held up the printing of the textbook for a month.In madrasa textbooks the changes were more severe. Dialogues between boys and girls and pictures of girls without headscarves were deleted. Names that sounded like they could belong to non-Muslims were removed and replaced with 'Islamic' names. The Bangla word for menstruation was removed from a girls' health chapter. The name of the NCTB chairman, who is of the Hindu faith, was omitted. The findings of the study titled 'National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB): Challenges of Good Governance and a Way-out in its Manuscript Formulation and Publication Management' were revealed at a press conference at TIB head office in the capital on Monday. TIB Deputy Programme Manager Morsheda Akter presented the study findings. Speaking at the press conference, TIB Executive Director Dr Iftekharuzzaman said the authorities concerned were compelled to bring changes in textbooks and included such words, which go against the spirit of the Bangladesh's independence, after it faced the demands of a communal group. If the anti-liberation issues make their way into textbooks and get institutionalised, he said, the new generation will turn out to be communal, which is a matter of concern. The anti-graft watchdog also found irregularities and corruption in the formulation of textbooks. There are no policies for preserving manuscripts, nepotism is rampant in the recruitment of proof readers, publication and distribution. The study says corruption and irregularities were found in the process of textbook publication and giving work orders, and the NCTB lacks capacity and professional skill in inspecting and monitoring its activities, which hampers the supply of textbooks across the country. The TIB in its study recommended establishing the NCTB as an independent commission so that it can independently formulate policies regarding textbook formulation and publication. Dr Iftekharuzzaman stressed the need for formulation of a committee involving experts to find a way to make the NCTB a commission so that the agency can work independently in the formulation and publication of textbooks.