SHILLONG: Madhubun Educational Books has expressed concerns over casting aspersions for awarding the contract for second language English textbooks by the Meghalaya Board of School Education.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, Diyasree Chattopadhyay, Managing Editor, ELT & HSS, said it was unbelievable that questions were being raised about the selection of a company with a history of over four decades of publishing books.
“Our English books are used in a number of renowned institutes in India and in the Middle East; the list is endless, but some schools which have prescribed our English books are South Point High School and Modern High School in Kolkata, Shantiniketan Educational Institutes in Bengaluru, Sardar Patel Vidyalaya in Delhi, St Xavier’s School in Pakyong, and Gulf Indian High School in Dubai. Our English textbooks have been adopted by the Nagaland Board of School Education for senior secondary students,” the statement said.
It said Madhubun, which is a division of Vikas Publishing House Pvt Ltd, has long held the Indian rights for renowned global writers like Daisaku Ikeda and Dominique Lapierre.
“We were one of the first to publish stories by Ruskin Bond in school textbooks, a little-remembered fact today. In recent times, we have proudly published the best of Indian writings in English, including writers like Paro Anand, Vikram Seth, Samit Basu and Anushka Ravishankar, just as we have tried to ensure an inclusive and progressive coverage of the best of traditional and contemporary British, American and European literature,” the statement added.
“It is deeply regrettable if the implication thereof is that a company of Indian origin cannot publish quality materials for English language teaching,” the publishing house asked and wanted to know whether only the British can teach proper English.
