Senate Body Directs Ministry To Form NBF's Board Of Governors

Senate body directs ministry to form NBF's board of governors

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 30th May, 2019 ) :Senator Muhammad Usman Khan Kakar Thursday directed the ministry of National History and Literary Heritage to form the board of governors of National Book Foundation (NBF) within six months.

Senate Functional Committee on the Problems of Less Development Areas Chairman Senator Usman Kakar also issued instructions to the ministry officials to devise proper rules of NBF and fill in the posts lying vacant in the ministry.

The committee in his chair recommended to expand the budget of the ministry from Rs 1 billion to Rs3 billion as it was running 12 institutions under its division.

The foundation was also directed to establish books stall in parliament house, provincial assemblies and on every airport of the country to encourage book reading trend among the masses.

Senator Kakar expressed his concerns that the NBF should focus on the less developed areas of the country, adding that those people really needed books and they were eager to opt book reading.

Usman Khan Kakar regretted that the NBF had only one books outlet in Balochistan province and directed the ministry to set up more outlets in the main cities of the province, especially in Zhob, Loralai and Khuzdar districts.

The chairman of the committee lauded the NBF for maintaining huge membership of 27,000 readers and providing 50 percent discounts on books. He also directed to expand the membership to 10 million.

He also suggested that to advertise and make publicity of the membership programme through media for creating awareness among the youth.

Kakar further said the NBF should launch more mobile libraries in less developed areas across the country and reach schools, colleges to involve more students in such healthy activities.

Senator Samina Saeed said we could also promote book reading by forming book clubs because a flourishing reading culture not only reflected a positive and healthy society rather also the most effective platform and weapon to eliminate dark clouds of ignorance, illiteracy and aware the masses and educate them to discriminate between right and wrong.

"Unfortunately in our society the tendency and appetite for reading is gradually dying and this lamentable situation is not only drastically affecting the habits, behaviours and notions of the people but society as a whole" she maintained.

She urged that the NBF and officials to play a vital role for restoration of book reading culture.

Senator Kalsoom Parven said the people of less developed areas required more books and we should create a good environment to educate youth through book reading.

She said the government departments should provide libraries and reading rooms in different communities and at local level.

The secretary of Ministry of National History and Literary Heritage informed the committee that the ministry in collaboration with NBF had conducted 500 exhibitions across the country in one year.

The secretary also invited the committee to visit the ministry and NBF headquarter. He said, "We have planned to open six outlets in the various areas of the country especially in Gilgit-Baltistan, Balochisatn and Azad Jammu & Kashmir but the plan has not been completed due to funding issues." The Managing Director of National Book Foundation told the committee that he had already appealed to the provincial governments for cooperation but they had not supported our initiative of mobile bookshops.

He further informed the committee about NBF's performance that the foundation had published 11,363 books and made available to the general public and students at affordable prices.

The managing director said the NBF had established book clubs in 11 central and district jails and providing books free of cost for the prisoners to empower them to change their lives. "We have written to the heads of all the jails for book clubs in the prisons but they do not respond," he added.