CHANDIGARH: After Times of India highlighted the
Punjab School Education Board's glaring mistake of equating tea and coffee with deadly narcotics such as
cocaine and
heroin in the chapter on ill-effects of drugs in Class XII, the board has removed the chapter from the website.
Introduced in the current academic session, the chapter was available online in the Class XII environmental science textbook. The board will now rectify the content before uploading it again on the official website and the correct version will be added in the textbooks to be distributed among students in the next academic session. The error on part of the board had left experts and teachers worried.
Acknowledging the mistake of listing out tea and coffee along with other dangerous drugs, PSEB director (academics) Manjeet Kaur said it was committed inadvertently. "We are revisiting the chapter and will do whatever is required to rectify the error," she vowed.
Considering the sensitivity of the issue, she said the chapter will be released only after getting in vetted from the experts.
The board has removed the chapter in the English language from the website, but the chapter in the Punjabi language is still available, which has also failed to explain the ill-effects of caffeine. Unlike chapter in English language, words tea and coffee have not been used while discussing ill-effects of
caffeine in chapter in Punjabi language, but the amount of caffeine which can have impact on health has not been specified.
The board framed the new curriculum on the directions of the Punjab and Haryana high court. While one chapter was added for XI last year, the Class XII chapter was added this year.
The content of the chapter was prepared by a nine-member committee constituted by then secretary education G Vajralingam in 2016. Initially, the content was made only for Class XI and it was later decided to introduce a chapter on drug menace in the Class XII as well for which more content was developed.
Picture used for representational purpose
