An Egyptian initiative to provide used books for free before the start of school
Thana Muhammad from Ismailia Governorate does not hide her desire to own used external books for her child in the fourth grade of primary school, after the prices of books rose by more than 40 percent, compared to last year.
The woman who lives in Ismailia Governorate (southwest of Cairo) says that experience in the world of used and old books made her seek books that do not contain handwriting from the previous student who used the book from last year. She recounts: “Clean books (with no solutions) are better than books.” The same solutions, in any case, are not new, but they are sufficient for the purpose, and are better in terms of the price difference.”
Thanaa recently joined a group via the “WhatsApp” application in her governorate under the name (Free Used School and Foreign Books), which was established some time ago with the aim of providing books to those unable to purchase new books at the various educational levels. The woman seeks to give last year’s books to one of the beneficiaries, while she is also looking for books for the fourth grade of primary school for her child.
* Parallel book
External books are one of the most important factors that help alongside the official textbook in the educational process, and publishing houses seek, in competition with each other, to attract students to buy the book with more exercises and questions that may be less in the official textbook.
Foreign books are witnessing a jump in their prices in Egypt, coinciding with the rise in paper prices, and in light of the recent rise in the price of the dollar against the Egyptian pound, and amid the rise in inflation in Egypt in August to 40 percent, recording a historical record, which increases the burden on the shoulders of books. Egyptian families before the start of the school season early next month.
Used external school books (used book exchange group on Facebook)
Hanan Salah, founder of the “Free Used School and Foreign Books” initiative, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the motivation behind the initiative was when she paid more than a thousand Egyptian pounds ($34) for a collection of foreign books last year for her son, who is studying in secondary school. I thought: Why doesn’t another unable student benefit from these books? By asking relatives and neighbors about her, Salah found that there was a need to exchange books between those who do not have a book on the one hand, and those who are looking for it on the other hand, so she launched a group via the “WhatsApp” application that aims to exchange books for free.
The initiative’s founder explains: “We must try to find alternatives to new books, especially since foreign books are only one branch of other educational expenses that burden the family.” The fifty-year-old woman also encourages mothers in her circles to establish parallel groups to exchange foreign books in other Egyptian governorates, especially After the popularity of the group, which includes approximately 300 parents and guardians searching for used foreign books.
Salah recounts that there are families who are forced to use a used book that contains solutions written by the previous student. Not being able to buy new books. The woman advises the parents around her that the student should try to solve with a pencil, at least in the early educational stages, so that whoever gets the book later can benefit from it.
* High prices
Groups including parents circulated through social media sites the new prices for textbooks in the year (2023-2024), for the various educational levels from primary to secondary, as most books exceeded the 100-pound barrier in the primary stage (one dollar is equivalent to 30.90 pounds), and reached 300 pounds in scientific subjects. In the preparatory stage, such as science and arithmetic in English, it exceeded the 400-pound barrier in some secondary school books.
In the same context, Ahmed Gaber, former head of the Printing and Publishing Chamber of the Egyptian Federation of Industries, and currently a member of the Board of Directors, admits to Asharq Al-Awsat that the prices of foreign books increased by more than 40 percent compared to the prices of books last year, adding that the price of a ton of paper increased by 400 percent. percent, as a result of the increase in the price of raw materials, in addition to the difference in the price of the dollar as a result of inflation in Egypt.
Ahmed Jaber, Chairman of the Printing and Publishing Chamber of the Federation of Industries (Chamber website)
The Egyptian pound is facing more pressure due to the scarcity of foreign currency liquidity in the country, at a time when observers expect a new floatation of the pound to open the door to the dollar further.
Jaber adds that the price of tree pulp, which is the raw material for making paper, rose from $650 per ton to $1,500, which affected the rise in the price of foreign books, adding that the price is subject to supply and demand and competition between publishing houses.
Jaber recounts that there were previous initiatives by the Printing and Publishing Chamber of the Egyptian Federation of Industries directed at the Ministry of Education to motivate students to return the textbook back to school in exchange for an exemption from expenses, in an effort to reduce the cost of printing the textbook from the government’s shoulders. But the initiative did not see the light of day by the relevant ministry.
* Fears of the lack of importance of the used book
Despite Egyptian government efforts to develop official curricula, the external book still attracts many students, especially in the certificate stages (the final year of educational levels), especially the secondary stage.
Salem Al-Rifai, an educational expert, says that the foreign book is not of great importance compared to the school book, adding to Asharq Al-Awsat that it is the custom that gave market and commercial value to the foreign book, considering that many parents relieve their children of negligence by purchasing books. Foreign Ministry, and he says: “(The father and mother say, ‘I will do what I have to do and get the books so that I do not fall short in the results.’”)
The educational expert considered that the popularity of external books is closely linked to private lessons and their replacement for school classes, pointing out that this is not the goal of the educational process, and that there is a difference between the curriculum (textbook content) and the curriculum, which is the set of skills that the student acquires from books.
2023-09-17 12:08:25
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