The Standing Committee of the Sarhad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SCCI) on Printing and Publishing has expressed serious reservations over the proposed National Book & Learning Policy and Action Plan in Inter-Provincial Education Ministers Conference.
The standing committee, which met here with chairman Shehryar Lodhi in the chair demanded of the government to withdraw the decision of the implementation of the policy prepared by the multinational companies and non-governmental organisations to prevent the possible losses of the policy.
Besides, acting Sarhad Chamber President Inayat Khan by chairman standing committee Mohammad Akhtar and vice chairman Iqtidar Ali, Shakeel Ahmad Qureshi, Niaz Ahmad and Tariq Naveed attended the meeting.
The meeting reviewed the losses of the proposed new textbook policy and expressed the fear that the new policy would hike in the prices of the textbooks and further push the domestic paper and printing industries towards destruction. They said that it would also deprive poor people of their right to education.
It was informed that the enforcement of the new textbook policy instead of education would promote illiteracy and instead of increase it would decrease the literacy rate in the country. The standing committee demanded of the government to take Sarhad Chamber and the Frontier Printers and Publishers Association, North West Frontier Province, into confidence before the implementation of the new textbook policy and preparation of the policy through consultation.
It also decided in the meeting that the printers and publishers would launch a full-fledged campaign to create awareness among the people regarding the new textbook policy. The campaign will include the display of banners and holding of different seminars to block the pushing of the province towards backwardness and will not become cause to increase in the number of sick industrial units in the province.
Comments
Comments are closed.