Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will be saying goodbye to heavy course books, as the government will be introducing e-books or what it calls ‘Mobile App Books’ for secondary level students.

The CM’s Adviser on Elementary and Secondary Education Ziaullah Khan Bangash told SAMAA TV on its programme Naya Din that they are introducing e-books for 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th grade students. The plan will be first implemented in Peshawar.

“To compete with the rest of the world, the KP education department wanted to upgrade the teaching methods. This is the reason behind incorporating technology into our education system,” explained Bangash.

He remarked that after the successful launch of the e-transfer policy for teachers on August 1, the education department wants to incorporate technology in more sections and wants to launch its e-book.

“All the transfers and postings of teachers are made through e-transfer applications now. It is the most transparent system,” said Bangash.

The adviser mentioned that earlier, a bill was passed in the KP Assembly compelling the education department to work to minimise the weight of students’ backpacks.

“After the bill was passed, we created a team and decided to develop an e-book app for our students,” said Bangash. He said that they don’t want to break the connection between books and students so they are incorporating technology.

“For primary level students we are cutting down extra workbooks and unrelated books from the course,” he said. “We are also introducing a daily scheduling system so that children don’t have to carry extra books every day.”

Related: Heavy school bags: A threat to your child’s health

He said that by taking such measures they have brought down the weight of school bags from 10kg to 3kg. “We want kids to be at ease and only focus on their education,” said Bangash.

He added that the e-books are for higher-level classes only. “People often object that only urban areas with internet facilities can use the application but we are working to regulate this app in rural areas within two years.”

First, teachers will be trained to use the e-book application and only then it will be implemented for students and in schools.

However, educationist Ayesha Varsi condemned the act of introducing e-books in the education system. “What I believe is by introducing e-books we are taking our children away from comprehension, which means that in future we won’t be able to produce good authors or writers,” she said.

She remarked that the education department should be working on students’ vocabulary and sentence structure rather than introducing them to a higher level of getting an education through technology. “Our children are already addicted to technology and gadgets. This move will cause more harm to the youth,” she claimed.

In response, Bangash said that the application is being launched only higher class students and course books are getting reduced for primary level. “A higher standard student is already using technology and gadgets anyway. Why not enhance education with it?” he asked.

Bangash added that after attending the World Education System Conference he realized that every country is planning to expand their education systems through technology and Pakistan should also incorporate technology into education to compete with the rest of the world.

Follow SAMAA English on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.