The Punjab Secondary Textbook Board (PSTB) on Wednesday served a show-cause notice to the Oxford University Press (OUP) over publishing Malala Yusufzai’s picture in a 7th-grade textbook without obtaining a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the board.
OUP has been given seven days to file a reply to the notice. According to the contents of the show-cause notice, a picture of Malala Yusufzai appeared in a textbook published by OUP for students of grade 7 without the PSTB’s approval. According to the PSTB, without due diligence, the publishing of any public figure’s picture in a school textbook is illegal.
The fact that the textbooks were confiscated because they contained Yousufzai’s picture caused an uproar online, with the education board being termed biased against the Nobel laureate.
After the show-cause was issued Punjab’s Minister for Education Murad Raas tweeted with a screenshot of a renowned journalist’s tweet and said:
This is how pathetic journalism is in our country. They hardly do their due diligence and start commenting on things. This book was printed by Oxford and NEVER got NOC from Punjab Curriculum Textbook Board. No NOC means breaking the law. pic.twitter.com/M88yJkVCTC
— Murad Raas (@DrMuradPTI) July 13, 2021
