Karachi, Students of class IX and X of both the public and private schools across Sindh will have one book, instead of two books, for each of the four different subjects — biology, physics, chemistry and mathematics — with effect from next academic session, and the examinations to be held in 2013 would be based on the new books.

This decision was taken at a meeting of the Sindh educational boards’ committee of chairmen (CoC), a representative body of all the seven educational and technical boards of the province, held in Hyderabad on Saturday.

Prof Anwar Ahmed Zai, who is the chairman of the CoC as well as the chairman of the Board of Intermediate Education Karachi (BIEK), said that the decision of having one book would help bridge the gap the students of class IX and IX had been facing while studying these subjects at college after passing the secondary school certificate examinations. He said that since there were many instances where schools used to teach their class IX and X students the contents of only part-I book of these four subjects, thus leaving no choice for such students but to read part-III books of the subjects in their class XI/XII without going through the part-II books of the subjects.

Moreover, this situation had created a problem for all the educational boards which, to help students of class IX and X unaware of the contents of book-II, had been preparing the papers of the subjects by incorporating questions from both parts of the books in such a manner that those who had not been taught book-II of these subjects could also attempt papers without much difficulty.

He said the Sindh Textbook Board would publish the books of the subjects for the academic session 2012 and onwards in a manner that it would be containing the approved syllabus of each of the subject in one book of each of the four subjects. According to Prof Zai, the chairmen of all the seven educational boards of the province had been asked to apprise the examiners of their respective boards that the contents of these papers for the class IX and X annual examinations-2013 must be based on the contents of only one book of these four subjects.

At the outset, the CoC meeting expressed satisfaction over the announcement of the results of all the examinations held in 2011 under the auspices of the educational boards of the province strictly in accordance with their schedule and in a transparent manner.