More needs to be done for national school education

As another school year knocks at the door, the education ministry as usual is found busy arranging the delivery of the necessary national curriculum text books throughout the country. It is no doubt a massive task and despite the best intentions of the authorities, flaws invariably keep surfacing. Apart from the physical delivery of the books, the ministry hopefully is more mindful of their content this year. It may be mentioned here that science books, published and distributed under the auspices of the National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) for the year 2011, had been found to contain too many errors. These were not just typographical but factual errors, as well as confusing figures and information, entered for the same subjects in different class texts ! For example, in text books for classes six, seven and eight, the number of chemical elements discovered so far has been printed as 109, 110 and 111 respectively. As per the 2007 data of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry the correct figure is said to be 111. Numerous other anomalies were found which educationists believe, should not be dismissed as minor faults. In this context, the NCTB authors should clearly be made to educate themselves before being given the task of writing the contents. The deplorable standard of NCTB texts, and the methods of teaching, both continue to be a major obstacle for students aspiring to be world-class. They would hardly get a clear idea about fundamental science from the above mentioned books, unless they had access to better sources. Indeed, most NCTB content and curriculum fall far short of what constitutes a reasonably sound, knowledge-based school education. Although a team of academicians were said to have been at work to remove major errors and also improving all the texts, critics claim precious little has improved. The present government may be proud of the education ministry for the dedication its chief has been showing. Nonetheless, there are miles to go still, if the honing of the grey cells is to begin early on for the nation to really understand what the 'digital' era really entails. There is no doubt that the 21st century world is being controlled and directed by an elite group with superior scientific know-how, as one political scientist had predicted decades ago. According to the same source, ' this elite would not hesitate to achieve its political ends by using the latest modern techniques for influencing public behaviour and keeping society under close surveillance and control. Technical and scientific momentum would then feed on the situation it exploits.' These warnings are more than vindicated by digital developments worldwide at this point in time. Needless to say, only those who have had the necessary education ---- beginning from early schooling, through secondary and tertiary levels ---- to keep their grey cells well-honed would be able to make the connections. Today's world is one where people's consent as well as dissent can be manufactured and managed digitally. Not understanding this phenomenon means remaining at the receiving end of all kinds of manipulations, tests and experiments that the 'elite' are capable of conducting wherever they wish. The 'digital Bangladesh' dream should therefore not be confined to getting access to hardware and mechanical operations of equipment only. Much more in-depth education is required and the foundations should be established as early as possible at the school level.