Guidebooks eroding creativity The very creativity of primary and secondary-level students is getting dented unduly because of a surfeit of cheap, sub-standard notebooks:Daily Sun

The very creativity of primary and secondary-level students is getting dented unduly because of a surfeit of cheap, sub-standard notebooks and guidebooks available on the local book market. The government in phases introduced a creative system for a better education, but unwarranted guidebooks are posing a threat to the students’ freethinking. Sources said book markets in divisional cities and dis
trict towns are almost flooded with so-called guidebooks and notebooks for the kids of class one to eight in defiance of a government ban. This sharp practice is still all the rage even after three decades into the moratorium on the sales of such notebooks and guidebooks. Educationists voiced concern over the crucially important issue when it comes to the guardians’ cause for concern as guidebooks restrain creativity and freethinking of the young learners heavily. Considering notebooks’ negative impact on students, the government banned printing, import, sales and distribution of notebooks in April 1980, but publishers have flouted the order only to continue with such illicit business. Publishers challenged the government decision in the High Court. On March 13, 2008, an HC bench ordered the ban on notebook and guidebook sales. Prof Siddiqur Rahman, former director of Institute of Education and Research at Dhaka University, said notebooks are working against the creative system of education. “Teachers have to be more creative and skilled... Questions mustn’t be prepared in line with guidebooks. Such tricks are taken to encourage students to follow notebooks or guidebooks.” Prof Siddiq said the trend of using notebooks is mostly seen among rural students. Teachers must avoid guidebooks and do classroom activities properly. There are many teachers who still lack proper training in the creative system to teach students, he alleged. As to the role of education boards in this regard, Prof Siddiq said, “Education boards should arrange training for teachers.” Prof Sikander Chowdhury of IER and Training at Chittagong     University said students now cram guidebooks instead of going deeper into textbooks. “They want to pass exams by skimming through notebooks only. This is very bad.”            Even, university students of today follow guidebooks to pass exams. Use of notebooks must strictly be monitored for betterment of society, he explained. Coaching centres also provide ready-made notes to students, thus discouraging them from reading textbooks, Prof Sikander lamented. Allegations are rife that many teachers suggest students to buy specific notebooks from particular bookstalls only to get some commission.