STBB committee calls for creativity and tolerance in school curricula

hyderabad: The Sindh Textbook Board (STBB) reviewed committee has emphasised the inclusion of critical thinking, creativity and tolerance in school curricula.

Officials said on Wednesday that on the directives of Sindh Minister for Education Syed Sardar Ali Shah, the first meeting of the curriculum review committee formed by the Sindh Textbook Board was held to evaluate educational textbooks.

During the session, education experts, scholars, and writers stressed the importance of including lessons in school textbooks that contribute to the moral development, knowledge enhancement, and critical thinking skills of students.

They also emphasised the need for the content to reflect effective language use, social responsibility, collective thinking, and rational perspectives. A proposal was made to develop guiding principles to achieve these goals, as students learning outcomes (SLOs) should be align with the text.

The meeting was chaired by STBB Chairman Parvez Ahmed Baloch. After reviewing the 12th-grade Sindhi textbook, experts shared their observations and suggested revisions in line with contemporary educational needs.

Notable participants, included renowned scholars and literary figures such as Jami Chandio, Dr Ishaq Samejo, Dr Sahar Imdad, Dr Fayaz Latif, Idrees Jatoi, Qazi Asif, Naseer Mirza, Zawar Naqvi, Dilshad Ahmed Detho, Agha Rafiq, Jamshed Ahmed Junejo, Naresh Kumar, Abdul Rehman Andhar, and Deputy Secretary Sindh Textbook Board Khalid Azad.

Prominent intellectual and writer Jami Chandio noted that improving textbooks is a continuous process that must be sustained. Although he pointed out thematic imbalances in the current 12th-grade Sindhi textbook, he praised its content quality as superior compared to textbooks from other provinces.

He emphasized that enhancing the curriculum is a prerequisite for improving textbooks and urged inclusion of original, creative content rather than compiled material. He also called for the urgent removal of any hate-promoting content and stressed that textbooks must be acceptable to students of all faiths.

Dr Ishaq Samejo, chairman of the Sindhi Language Authority, emphasized the collective responsibility of providing students in Sindh with high-quality, error-free, and informative textbooks. Commenting on the 12th-grade Sindhi textbook, he pointed out inconsistencies in the introductions of various personalities in terms of language, quality, and information.

He stressed the need for revisions and advocated the inclusion of fresh, creative content instead of reusing material from other books. Dr Sahar Imdad highlighted the importance of presenting textbooks in a simple and understandable manner so that students don’t feel as if they are being forced to study. Dr Adil Soomro noted that the quality of the book needs further improvement, as outlined in the compiled report. He recommended that the Sindh Textbook Board undertake a comprehensive review of all its publications.

Dr Fayaz Latif said the revision of textbooks published by the Sindh Textbook Board is absolutely essential. He criticized the current 12th-grade Sindhi textbook for lacking quality and recommended that it be edited by a qualified editor. Zawar Naqvi added that textbooks must be student-friendly and cautioned against making them overly complex, which can burden students.

STBB Chairman Parvez Ahmed Baloch thanked all the experts and scholars, reaffirming the board’s commitment to providing students with quality learning materials. He expressed hope that through collective efforts, the standard of textbooks in Sindh could be elevated to international benchmarks. The deputy director of the Directorate of Curriculum, Assessment, and Research also attended the meeting and pledged to convey the recommendations to the relevantdepartment.