Tyranny Textbooks

August marks the end of the summer break, bringing students back to the same daily school routine, with no change at all. The same heavy bags, the same old textbooks, the same outdated teaching methods, the same 'fair copy' culture, the same cramming of irrelevant lessons, and the same competitive race-particularly with the 'topper' who is considered successful simply because he is good at memorising things very well. From school assemblies to classrooms and until the final bell, the pattern of insulting and pressurising students continues the same way.

What's missing is motivation-which is nowhere to be found. Instead, there's an unexpected compulsion by parents who push children to repeat the same boring school and even university routines, calling it the only key to success. This is the story of every new academic session.

School assemblies and PT sessions no longer focus on the students' development. Instead, they instil fear, pressurising students to obey every instruction-whether right or wrong-or face humiliation and punishment. The National Anthem is made mandatory not only in assemblies but also appears on the cover of every textbook.

Nearly every textbook from primary to university level is overloaded with content that has nothing to do with the actual subject. Take, for example, the textbooks of grades 9 and 10. The Sindhi Lazmi textbook begins with two lessons focused on prominent Islamic personalities. The Asaan Sindhi edition starts with the Last Sermon of the Holy Prophet (PBUH), followed by lessons on other Islamic figures. The fourth lesson about Quaid-e-Azam portrays him almost as another Islamic figure.

While these Sindhi textbooks are written in the Sindhi language, they rarely teach about the language itself, its significance, or its literature-which is deeply concerning. The same is true for Urdu textbooks, which begin with lessons on Islamic topics and several more on Pakistan Studies.

Similarly, the English textbook for grade 9 starts with a unit on ethics. Unit 4, titled Pakistan and Its Pride, focuses more on Pakistan Studies than English. Unit 6, titled Gender Equity, is also more about Pakistan's history than about the English language or the concept of gender equality. It highlights the role of a few women in Pakistan's creation, but fails to provide any understanding of English literature, grammar, or poetry. Again, English is missing-despite being the subject. History books also show a troubling trend. They present a heavily fabricated version of history, often labelling Hindus and other minorities as enemies, deepening biases and distorting the past.

In Pakistan, science books are no exception either. For example, the Biology textbook for grade 9 begins with Islamic verses in its Introduction to Biology chapter. While quoting from religion is not inherently problematic or objectionable, mixing science and religious text can confuse students. Moreover, textbooks across grades repeat unimportant, often irrelevant, information that neither builds knowledge nor curiosity.

Take another example from the English textbook of grade 9 (Sindh Textbook Board):

Unit 4.5: Study Skills Listening Test

The listening activity is based on the story of the cunning fox and the gentle stork. The fox invites the stork for dinner and serves soup that the stork cannot eat due to his beak. Later, the stork invites the fox and serves food in narrow-necked utensils, taking symbolic revenge.

At the end of the story, there's a discussion with a moral lesson: the stork should not have taken revenge and should have forgiven the fox. The textbook imposes this by asking students to pledge that they will always forgive wrongdoers. But this raises serious concerns. While the core purpose of the activity was listening comprehension, the textbook diverts it towards moral preaching.

After completing the lesson, when a teacher asked a girl whether one should forgive someone who does wrong, she confidently replied, 'No, I will defend myself and, if necessary, take revenge.' But when the teacher pointed to the textbook's message about forgiveness, the child hesitated, looked confused, and then changed her answer-'Yes, I will forgive him because the book says so.'

This is deeply troubling. The child's original answer reflected instinctive self-respect and self-defence. But the textbook undermined her judgement, conditioning her to think that tolerating injustice is noble, even when it's harmful.

Will this kind of schooling cater to the more successful generation? Absolutely not. Will such a curriculum inspire creativity, learning, or critical thinking? No way. Will these textbooks teach our children how to protect themselves or stand up for what's right? Unfortunately, not at all.

As Althusser suggests, 'Unseen warriors are more dangerous than visible ones, because they can control the way to think and write.' This is something that must be understood.

Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).