Beware of textbook errors

•      Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated on October 30, 1948 
•      Japan launched a nuclear attack on the United States during World War II 
•         A new country named Islamic Islamabad was constituted after the Partition with its                        capital  Khyber Ghat in the Hindukush mountains 
•           All South Indians are Madrasis

These are the opening shots of a report appeared in Deccan Herald (17/06/2014) under the caption “In Gujarat textbooks, fact is stranger than fiction!”

Text books riddled with errors

This is not the first time.  We have seen Gandhi  is listed as “Gandi”.   If Mahatma Gandhi  was “assassinated on October 30, 1948”, aren’t we murdering him again?  “Islamic Islamabad” is like telling  “I and my brother are brothers”.  If all South Indians are “Madrasis”, then are all North Indians “Gujratis”?  I hope no “Kannadiga”  or “Malayalee” read it differently. In 2013, in Sikkim, Chief Minister was spelt as “Thief Minister” in English textbook.  Suez Canal referred as a  “sewage area” and Burma as “Bhramadesh”.

Earlier Maharashtra State Board of Secondary Higher Secondary Education was riddled with about 80 mistakes including incorrect definitions in the textbooks.  Also observed that Ajanta is located 60 km from Jangaon, instead of Jalgaon.  Jangaon is not in Maharashtra, but in Andhra Pradesh.  

A certain amount of “history” is always open to differing accounts, as it depends upon the viewpoint of the historian.  However, when facts are easily checked and corroborated by uninvolved third parties, there is no excuse for errors to appear in a text book.  Vetting of text books is a serious matter and there should be a high-power panel of historians and scholars.  The new ‘definition’ of 'rewriting' history makes one hysterical.

Horrid and shameful

We refer to books and reputed newspapers/magazines for any factual or grammatical clarification and trust their expertise.  When a crime takes place, we go to police station for help.  If police himself is a criminal, the less said the better. 

If the authors are negligent and uninformed, no wonder the students who read their material will turn out to be like them. Garbage in, garbage out!  Education ministry should examine every Indian state about the accuracy of the curricula and boot out the offending parties if their books or method of teaching failed to meet the sane requirements. If the teachers who reviewed the book weren’t educated enough to catch the glaringly obvious errors, then perhaps, we need to reevaluate the evaluation process, or we need to reevaluate the teachers themselves.  Probably, this could be the result of semi-literates sneaking in to Textbook committees.

It is an irony that India suffered at the hands of “the English” for 200 years, and now “English” should suffer at the hands of India for eternity. 

Mistakes are not uncommon. Some mistakes can be funny, while others can be tragic.  Finding mistakes in a text book can be entertaining and challenging, but the misleading information is hazardous to the student community, sadly depicting that some Indian classrooms are on a sticky wicket.   It is said a student is only as good as the teacher; however, it can be edited to include textbooks.  

Wake-up call for publishers

We do not know how many publishers are receptive to criticisms and willing to fix the textbook errors.  Some errors aren’t merely imprecise, but the betrayal is contentious. As far as spelling, punctuation and grammar are concerned, they are clear obligations of the editors and proof-readers employed by the publishing house.  The publisher should replace the books with the corrected ones at no cost to the schools and the erroneous volumes should be destroyed, else they might again find their way to markets and libraries. 

Note to publishers:  Free grammar and spell checkers are available!  Even casual bloggers recognise the imperative to spell right.  If you get something wrong online, readers and commenters will point it out, and the errors can be fixed in about 30 seconds.  The errors in a print book’s first edition, in contrast, remain forever.  The publishers, in line with their cost-cutting exercise, could have chopped the functional needs of editors, proof-readers and scholars.  Perhaps, they rely on the author to do everything.  One thing is clear: The publisher didn’t read the book.  The faulty publishers should deservedly be blacklisted.

It is possible the government, due to feasibility factor, could instruct the schools not to teach the “incorrect” portions, and not to set questions in exams on those “questionable” topics.  School principal/teachers would admit in private that the errors have not only created problems in teaching but it may result in students learning the wrong lessons for life.  But none would opt to go on record fearing becoming victims in the hands of the higher-ups.

What can be done?

Better yet, distribute the books and offer academic incentives to students who identify mistakes.  School teachers’ associations should petition the government to recall the erroneous text books or issue a circular with corrections.  If the government remains silent on the issue, it means the teachers have to teach the same chapters with bloopers till next academic year, which tantamount to sending wrong signals to the very concept of education.

The disgraceful examples of publishing false, misleading and otherwise objectionable information should drive the authorities to revisit all the subjects.  Else, one fine day, we may find “India” missing in the world map from the atlas!  While every state has its own sordid story, the textbook error episode is not unique to India.  Texas State Board of Education found over 109,000 errors in textbooks in 2008. Ignorance has no geographical boundaries. 

Can there be any excuse or explanation for some text book error that showed a picture of, say, a compass with East and West on the wrong sides?  The study of mathematics is all about accuracy.  The equation has to be spot-on every time, consistency is everything.  2 + 2 has to be 4, and only 4.  Any other answer threatens the very existence of the subject.  If your geography text interchanges Nepal and Bhutan, is it acceptable?

If a history text is historically not accurate, an English book is grammatically erroneous and badly spelt, Mathematics showing wrong solution, it illustrates so much of what is wrong with Indian public education.  Textbooks are supposed to be educationally inspiring and enlighten the pupils.

Over to Ms. Smriti Irani, Human Resources Minister, who recently said she would strive to make India “an educational hub” -  for necessary action.

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/414298/in-gujarat-textbooks-fact-stranger.html