Bathinda, January 14
The persistent issue raised by the students of government schools of non-availability of books in the new academic session is soon going to be addressed to a certain level as the Punjab School Education Board is all set to launch e-books for various subjects for Class XII at the beginning of the academic session 2014-15.
Speaking to Bathinda Tribune, chairperson of the PSEB, Tejinder Kaur Dhaliwal said, “By February end, the PSEB will upload portable document format (PDF) files of as many as 68 books on its official website. A couple of books are under review and the PDF files of those books will be uploaded only after the procedure is complete and the books are approved as a part of the syllabus.”
She also said the board had conceptualised the plan for the academic session 2013-14 but it couldn’t materialise since the board didn’t get approval for doing so in time and uploading books in the mid-session would have made little sense.
Options galore
Once the PDF files of these books are uploaded on the PSEB website, the students will have the option of either buying the books from the market or accessing them through the internet. In case the books are in short supply in the market, the students will have the option of downloading the books and taking printouts of the same.
District Education Officer (secondary) Harkanwaljeet Kaur said, “The PDF files would mean that the students will not need to carry their books along if they are travelling. They will be able to download the books and read them on their mobile phones, laptops and computers.
Minor glitches
Although, the idea of uploading e-books is a novel one, teachers of the government schools believe that access to books depends on access to internet, which is a problem in the schools located in villages. “The board is moving with the times and is preparing e-books to make sure that the students of senior secondary classes don’t face the problem of non-availability of books. But the board should also consider the fact that a majority of students of government schools don’t have internet-enabled mobile phones, laptops or computers,” said a teacher.
Updated books
The board has not left any stone unturned to make its students fit for appearing for various competitive and entrance examinations. To make sure that the students of the PSEB don’t lag behind, the board is updating the syllabus of the books which have not been reviewed in the last 25 years.
Dhaliwal said the PSEB was under the process to update books for Classes XI and XII. “We are reviewing and updating the books for Classes XI and XII. The PSEB science books will be adapted from the NCERT science books to keep the students of the state board abreast with those of the national board and make them ready for the competitive examinations,” Dhaliwal added.
She added books for English, history, political science, sociology and constituent subjects of commerce were also being updated before being printed and turned into PDF format to be uploaded on the website.
“The e-books will be launched in phases. If the review of some of the books takes longer, then e-versions of those books may be uploaded in the next year. The same procedure will be undertaken for the books of Class XI as well,” Dhaliwal said.
Relieved of responsibility?
Under the Right to Education Act (RTE), books of all subjects are provided free-of-cost to all the students of Classes VI-VII. For Classes IX-XII, books are given free-of-cost to the students belonging to the Scheduled caste, Scheduled tribe and other reserved categories.
With the e-books uploaded on its website, the PSEB will be, to an extent, relieved of its responsibility of providing books to the students in the first month of the academic session.
The persistent issue raised by the students of government schools of non-availability of books in the new academic session is soon going to be addressed to a certain level as the Punjab School Education Board is all set to launch e-books for various subjects for Class XII at the beginning of the academic session 2014-15.
Speaking to Bathinda Tribune, chairperson of the PSEB, Tejinder Kaur Dhaliwal said, “By February end, the PSEB will upload portable document format (PDF) files of as many as 68 books on its official website. A couple of books are under review and the PDF files of those books will be uploaded only after the procedure is complete and the books are approved as a part of the syllabus.”
She also said the board had conceptualised the plan for the academic session 2013-14 but it couldn’t materialise since the board didn’t get approval for doing so in time and uploading books in the mid-session would have made little sense.
Options galore
Once the PDF files of these books are uploaded on the PSEB website, the students will have the option of either buying the books from the market or accessing them through the internet. In case the books are in short supply in the market, the students will have the option of downloading the books and taking printouts of the same.
District Education Officer (secondary) Harkanwaljeet Kaur said, “The PDF files would mean that the students will not need to carry their books along if they are travelling. They will be able to download the books and read them on their mobile phones, laptops and computers.
Minor glitches
Although, the idea of uploading e-books is a novel one, teachers of the government schools believe that access to books depends on access to internet, which is a problem in the schools located in villages. “The board is moving with the times and is preparing e-books to make sure that the students of senior secondary classes don’t face the problem of non-availability of books. But the board should also consider the fact that a majority of students of government schools don’t have internet-enabled mobile phones, laptops or computers,” said a teacher.
Updated books
The board has not left any stone unturned to make its students fit for appearing for various competitive and entrance examinations. To make sure that the students of the PSEB don’t lag behind, the board is updating the syllabus of the books which have not been reviewed in the last 25 years.
Dhaliwal said the PSEB was under the process to update books for Classes XI and XII. “We are reviewing and updating the books for Classes XI and XII. The PSEB science books will be adapted from the NCERT science books to keep the students of the state board abreast with those of the national board and make them ready for the competitive examinations,” Dhaliwal added.
She added books for English, history, political science, sociology and constituent subjects of commerce were also being updated before being printed and turned into PDF format to be uploaded on the website.
“The e-books will be launched in phases. If the review of some of the books takes longer, then e-versions of those books may be uploaded in the next year. The same procedure will be undertaken for the books of Class XI as well,” Dhaliwal said.
Relieved of responsibility?
Under the Right to Education Act (RTE), books of all subjects are provided free-of-cost to all the students of Classes VI-VII. For Classes IX-XII, books are given free-of-cost to the students belonging to the Scheduled caste, Scheduled tribe and other reserved categories.
With the e-books uploaded on its website, the PSEB will be, to an extent, relieved of its responsibility of providing books to the students in the first month of the academic session.
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