Photo: Collected-
Metropolis Report-
Prof. Dr. Muhammed Zafar Iqbal has expressed his regret and disappointment over the plagiarism that has reportedly been found in the class VII science textbooks.
According to National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) sources, class VII science is covered by two books.
Several parts of one of those books were copied from the National Geographic website and translated into Bangla using Google Translate.
Distinguished Professor Dr. Muhammed Zafar Iqbal edited the book. However, the book was written by a panel of five teachers. They are Assistant Professor Rony Basak, Professor Haseena Khan, Professor Mohammad Mizanur Rahman Khan, Professor Mustak Ibn Ayub, and Professor Muhammed Zafar Iqbal.
Prof. Zafar Iqbal and Prof. Haseena Khan on Monday issued a statement admitting the mistake.
The claim of plagiarism in the book’s “Research Lessons” chapter was made in an opinion article that was published in the national daily Prothom Alo, according to the statement.
Several sections of the books referenced in the article were directly taken from the National Geography website.
“We have concluded that the allegations are true after evaluating the website’s contents.”
The statement also mentioned that a book is written by a number of authors.
“When creating these works, authors are anticipated to show accountability. Finding out that a writer is actually the subject of such an accusation causes anguish and disappointment.”
Even if he and Prof. Haseena did not compose the parts, the statement said that because they were panel members, the blame still falls on them.
