Leftist students bodies besiege NCTB to protest textbook blunders
Students to besiege education ministry today over issue
STAFF REPORTER
Protests are pouring in from various quarters against the blunders in the free textbooks that were distributed recently among students from the primary level to Class IX. Immediate steps have been demanded against those responsible to prevent any repetition of such mistakes.
The Left-leaning Bangladesh Students Union yesterday besieged the National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) to protest the mistakes, alleging communal issues had been planted in the textbooks of 2017.
The students organisation brought out a procession that started from the Teacher Student Centre of Dhaka University, went round the Doel Chattar-Press Club-Paltan, and finally reached the NCTB office.
The Bangladesh Students Union expressed its solidarity with progressive organisations like the Udichi Shilpigosthi.
Shafiuddin Ahmed, central president of the Udichi Shilpigosthi, presided over the rally led by Hafiz Adnan Ryad, the general secretary of the Jubo Union.
Luky Akter, central president of the Bangladesh Students Union, said they had noticed unprecedented communal content prescribed by the Hefazat-e-Islam, Olama League and Charmonai Pir in the textbooks. She also said the textbooks betrayed gender discrimination, something that went against the spirit of the Liberation War.
The progressive organisations demanded immediate rectification of the mistakes and the distribution of new books. They also sought the resignation of those responsible for the mistakes.
They said they would organise another siege on February 1, if their demands were not met.
Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Students Federation yesterday announced a protest rally in front of the education ministry on Monday and placed their four-point demand in protest against the textbook errors.
