SHILLONG, FEB 20: The Khun Hynniewtrep National Awakening Movement (KHNAM) has demanded that Meghalaya Board of School Education (MBOSE) must immediately come up with proper guidelines for distribution of educational textbooks by the different schools in the state.
KHNAM youth wing delegation met the MBOSE academic official E Shongwan to discuss the issue on Friday.
The issue came after the KHNAM youth wing received complaints from the parents of the students alleging non-compliance by one of the schools in the city in distributing textbooks prescribed by the board.
“We demand the board authority to ensure that proper guidelines are put in place for the distribution of textbooks to avoid manipulation of the price fixed by the board,” KHNAM – YW president Thomas Passah told reporters after the meeting.
Passah said that the absence of proper rules and regulations on textbook distribution has allowed schools to charge the cost of textbooks to higher rate affecting the parents and students, especially those coming from not so well economic background.
Passah informed that the decision to bring the matter to the notice of the MBOSE came St Margaret’s Higher Secondary School had distributed a particular textbook on Environmental Education for Class IX which was never prescribed by the MBOSE.
According to Passah, the book on Environmental Education given by the school having the same content as per the board’s syllabi, but the cost and publication is different from the textbook for the same subject prescribed by the MBOSE.
“The book distributed by the school cost around Rs 225 while the one prescribed by the MBOSE cost only Rs 70, as per Tura vide notification No 205 issued by the board on November 13, 2007,” Passah informed.
Passah said the party demands MBOSE to direct the concerned school authority to comply with the board prescribed textbooks and the school authority must also refund the extra money spend on the purchase of the particular textbook by the students.
St Margaret’s Higher Secondary School principal Marina Thomas termed the incident as accidental. She told reporters, “The issue is accidental.”
Informing that while all the textbooks are those prescribed by the board, Thomas said that the supplier concerned had made a mistake while supplying the book on Environmental Education to the school, which started its session two days ago.
The principal assured that the school has rectified the mistake and have asked all the students to return the book. She said the school will refund the extra money spent on the purchase of the book by students.- By Our Reporter
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