Good news for school-goers

The government commenced the distribution of more than 330 million copies of textbooks to some 44 million school-going children on the first day of the New Year. This is a major achievement for the ministry concerned which had in the past few years taken a lot of flak over the issue of getting new books to schools on time. That school students of pre-primary, primary, secondary and technical education schools as well as ebtedai and dakhil madrasas will not have to wait this year for books to arrive proves that lessons have been learnt from past mistakes and corrective actions taken.

New textbooks on time means students do not lose precious months in starting their new school calendar year. Also, that these books are provided free of cost means millions of children coming from less than well-to-do families nationwide are able to study. Retaining children in the schooling system has been a major thrust of the government and six years down the line (distribution of free books started in 2010), the programme of getting books to students on time is beginning to pay off.

Needless to say the cost of producing these books puts a hefty pull on precious resources. But this is an investment into the future and it is worth it. The ministry deserves to be commended on a job well done. Should the current track record be maintained, it is not inconceivable to see that one day we will be transformed into a knowledge-based society. We look forward to that day.