The differences between Pakistan and Cambridge/Oxford textbooks was closely observed during our stay at University of Cambridge from 1995 to 2005. It was our wish to mold and replicate those ideas and use them for the development of our future generation. Luckily, Government of Pakistan introduced National Curriculum 2006, National Textbook and Learning Material (NTLM) Policy 2007 and National Education policy 2009. The National Curriculum 2006 is unmatchable in-terms of vertical and horizontal alignment and up-to date knowledge. The NTLM policy was totally a new method of developing the Textbooks. According to this policy, the Textbooks are to be developed by private publishers and the government has to select one out of them for the government schools. Our company went into competition in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Azad Jammu & Kashmir and won more than 200 titles from Grade 1 to Grade 12.
During the process, it was noted that our nation is divided into four different classes of education, studying different curriculum and resulting in different personalities when it comes to professional life. The four classes of education are, the Hi fi international English medium school studying International curriculum, the English medium school studying un-designed curriculum, the government school studying National curriculum 2006 and the madrasa studying their own curriculum. The importance of uniformity in Pakistan’s educational system flows from the Constitution of Pakistan, which entrusts the State with the responsibility of organizing an equitable and effective education system, with an aim to enhance the overall well-being of Pakistanis.
The reason for the diversification and extreme differences in the society is the result of the difference in curricula. We are convinced that every Textbook shall be developed on the National Curriculum 2006 to produce cohesion in society and finish the diversification in the basic ideology of Pakistan and Islam. Upon successfully completing the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Kashmir Textbook Boards projects, we decided to prepare Textbooks for nearly half of the country’s population, who are sending their children to private schools.
The PCTB is the first government institution to have taken the initiative to scrutinize the publishing of illegal books circulating in the market, by private publishers, without official clearance. [For reference, The PCTB Act 2015, section 10: Prohibition. – (1) No person shall, except with the prior approval of the Board, print, publish, sell or prescribe in an institution any textbook or supplementary material.] It will be worthwhile to mention here that Cantab has the honour of being the first institution as a private publisher to have secured the approval / NOC from the PCTB for its books. Furthermore, we’d like to send our message to all the heads of educational institutions that they must stop teaching those books that are not officially endorsed by the PCTB. We believe that government should strictly monitor such private publishers who float their unauthorized books in the market.
The series in your hand is the result of the day and night efforts of International and National level Writers, Editors and Designers. I am thankful to them for their untiring endeavors and request our candid readers to give your input.