Government to take ‘strong stance’ against note compilations, study guides, says NCTB chairman

Textbook content will be restructured and question papers will expand past traditional formats to prevent the “oppression” of guides, says AKM Reazul Hassan

The government is announcing a “zero tolerance” stance against note compilations and study guides, says Prof AKM Reazul Hassan, chairman of the National Curriculum and Textbook Board.

Several studies have shown that students have become far more dependent on such question papers, mark schemes, and other guides in the past few years. Not only do these guides increase the cost of education borne by parents, many in the field believe that they hamper the actual purpose of education.

Commenting that guides “disrupt the main goal of education”, Reazul told bdnews24.com: “We have zero tolerance for note compilations and guides. The government will also be firm on the printing of such guides.”

“We have written to the Ministry of Education to take action on notes and guides. The district and Upazila administrations have already been asked to conduct a campaign against note guides. Campaigns are already being conducted in some places.”

Textbook content will be restructured and question papers for different exams will expand past traditional formats to prevent the “oppression” of guides, Reazul said.

He said, “Our thinking regarding putting a stop to notes and guides is that the content of the textbook should be restructured in such a way that different types of questions can be asked. The questions should be asked in such a way that they are not common. Therefore, the structuring of questions should also be changed.”

“Many people take the help of reference books in IELTS and GRE exams, but they do not contain the exact questions on the papers. If we can ask questions in that way, it will be possible to develop a varied question set. Then, when people see that the same questions are not repeated, their reliance on notes and guides will decrease and the need to engage with the textbook will prevail.”

According to the Campaign for Popular Education’s “Education Watch Report 2023” study, 92 percent of primary and 93 percent of secondary students followed the guidebooks for their lessons and exam preparation.

The “Education Watch Report 2022” said that 79 percent of primary and 82.5 percent of secondary students followed such guides.

Both reports blamed these guidebooks as the “sole” reason for the increase in education costs.