IT is common knowledge that several Science and Mathematics workbooks for students preparing for public examinations are replete with bad grammar. There is a need to carry out quality checks before these books are published.
Quality checks can be carried out on publications if the publishing company can appreciate the importance of doing this and identify and employ quality staff to do the editing and proofreading.
Some owners of the smaller schoolbook publishing companies can be better categorised as businessmen than publishers.
They buy a manuscript (together with the copyright) from an author, who has some degrees to his name, if the price is right and they feel they can make a profit by publishing it.
They are unable to gauge the editorial skills of applicants and employment is based on paper qualifications and the salary
asked for.
A good command of the language is essential for quality editing and proofreading work. There are no institutions locally set up to provide training and give recognition to those with acceptable standards of editorial and proofreading competence.
As such, anyone with dubious editorial and proof-reading skills can claim to be a professional in those fields.
If such an institution exists, the smaller publishing companies can confidently employ these professionals and be assured of the high quality of their work. Of course, they will have to pay appropriately for better quality work.
M. Ganeshadeva, Kuala Lumpur