Now, errors surface in PU accountancy textbook

It appears no textbook is free from gaping errors. The latest subject to join the list is accountancy for pre-university course.

Shocking errors in the accountancy textbooks prescribed by the Department of Pre University Education (DPUE) are creating problems for lecturers in classrooms.

While in the past the department just prescribed the syllabus and students could refer to books available in the market, in the new format it has brought out its own textbooks for both first and second-year PUC.

The DPUE has received memoranda from lecturers seeking immediate rectification of the errors that only misguide students about the concepts. Accordingly, it has set out to form a committee to look into these complaints.

One such memorandum has been given by K R Nayak, a senior accountancy professor. In his letter to the DPUE director, Prof Nayak has stated that accountancy textbooks are “way below reasonable academic standards and almost every page has mistakes”. He has urged the department to either withdraw the new textbooks and bring out a corrected version or revert to the old system where students were free to choose their reference books.

The shortcomings in the textbook listed by the professor include poor-quality illustrations and several problems in each topic that are repetitive in nature, vague definitions of basic accounting terms, wrong reproduction of legal definitions, etc.

For instance, in a problem about two partners in a firm, the illustration describes that a third partner is admitted to the firm. The students are required to calculate the revaluation account, partners’ capital account and bank account along with the “balance sheet of the new firm.”

Prof Nayak pointed out as many as 11 errors in this single illustration alone.

“First, just because a third person was admitted as partner, it will merely become a new partnership, but cannot be considered a new firm. Also, from the details mentioned in the table, students are required to calculate the bank account,” Prof Nayak explained.

“There is, however, no separate mention of bank balance and hence bank account cannot be calculated. The said question also has one part wherein the interest is received in advance. How can interest be received in advance?”

An accountancy lecturer at a PU college in Mysore concurred that there were indeed several typographical errors.

 “As far as I could see, there are more typographical errors than conceptual ones. Some of us have been correcting these errors while teaching. But not every lecturer may be able to do so,” the lecturer said, wishing anonymity.

“On the positive side, the department has finally taken the initiative to bring out a textbook and the committee members did so with a time constraint of 24 days. Even so, the errors have to be rectified and we need new textbooks at least from the next academic year onwards.”

Meanwhile, the DPUE director has issued directions to the officials concerned to form a committee and look into the lacunae mentioned. VK Nagaraju, Joint Director (Academic), told Deccan Herald that they had submitted the complaints to the textbook committee.
“We are awaiting the committee’s response. We will weigh the observations of both sides before taking any further action,” he said.