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Dorien Pile The Barbados Government established a centrally operated textbook rental scheme in 1975 for all public secondary schools. This places the local scheme among the oldest extant ones. Before this, many secondary schools operated limited site-based rental schemes as part of a welfare support system for needy students. Most textbooks, however, were ordered through commercial booksellers and either sold by them or by the schools. From 1975 to 1992, the Ministry of Education was responsible for running the textbook rental scheme in the island. The book lists, ordering, distribution and control of the rental fees were supervised by a special unit in the Ministry. This centralised system came to an end in 1992, when a Cabinet Order returned the full organisation of the scheme to the schools. The rental fees are determined by government policy and fixed by the Ministry of Education. This fee is standard across the secondary school system. It is generally agreed that learning materials are critical to effective and efficient learning in the classroom. The greater the variety, the greater the relevance to and the greater the students’ interaction with these materials, the more beneficial the impact on learning. Textbooks are the most fundamental types of learning materials. While they may be over-relied upon, textbooks do provide all students with:
Textbooks allow for basic equity in education. This is especially true in developing countries where inadequate financial resources and physical and infrastructural problems impact on the availability of other learning materials. But even this basic condition for equity is constrained by the spiralling cost of textbooks. Most textbook prices have risen over 100% in the last two decades. Textbook rental schemes therefore provide a valuable educational response to many of the problems parents and teachers face when structural, financial or logistical factors prevent many students from acquiring vital textbooks for use in the teaching-learning situation. MANAGING THE SCHEME Finance The initial start-up funds, when the scheme was returned to the school, were a grant from the Government. The funds are replenished by the fees paid by the students. The Textbook Fund is meant to be self supporting and viable. The fees collected are banked and administered by the Secretary/Treasurer of the school’s Board of Management, and the Fund is subject to an annual audit by a professional firm of accountants. The auditors’ report must be submitted to the Board of Management and the Ministry of Education. The annual rental fee per student has risen from US$ 2.50 (BDS$ 5.00) in the mid nineteen-seventies to US$37.50 (BDS$75.00) in 1999. This provides the scheme with an annual budget of US$37,500.00 (BDS$75,000.00). The level of replacement and the new book orders are adjusted to fit within this total budget. The greatest expense is expected at the senior levels in the school where new book stocks are more frequently needed to support the curricula required by external examination bodies. These demands could easily deplete the funds of the scheme if great care is not exercised. However, with the proper care of books and the smallest acceptable attrition rate the fees can support the expenditure. The annual expenditure on new books will vary. Sometimes it can be as low as US$10,000.00 (BDS$20,000.00) while, at other times, it may exceed US$50,000.00 (BDS$100,000.00) in some schools. Hence sustainability is a critical element of any scheme and all steps must be put in place to ensure that proper fiscal management is practised and monitored. The annual rental does not cover the cost of a set of new books at any level. The table below sets out the average cost of a set of books for the various levels at Combermere in 1999. This includes both new and recycled texts used in the scheme.
There are some cases where parents are unable to afford the annual fee for their children. In those circumstances, a number of types of assistance is available:
Organisation The local textbook rental scheme is run by the schools, within basic guidelines set out by the Ministry of Education. The books are the property of the school and ownership is vested in the Board of Management of the school. The rental scheme must be supervised by the Principal, but the day-to-day running and organisation is done by a specially selected member of the teaching staff and the library assistant or the clerk/typist. The book lists are prepared for each year group by the officers in charge of the scheme. Suggestions for the inclusion of texts are given by the Heads of Department and subject teachers. Fluctuations in class size do not really affect the functioning of the school’s scheme unless the classes are unexpectedly large and the current stock of a particular book is inadequate. Among the records kept are:
Whenever a change in the syllabus is proposed, the school requires that at least one year is given, so that adequate preparation can be made to ensure that the new texts are ordered and received in good time. There is usually a long period of five to six months between the placement of an order and the receipt of the books. At the form levels where students write public exams, the late arrival of the recommended set texts for literature can pose problems for students taking the relevant subjects. Then, supplementary orders have to be sent to booksellers or direct to publishers. The schools are well served by publishers’ representatives, who assist the process of making sure that the book stocks in each subject area are kept up-to-date. The parents/guardians assume responsibility for the texts rented over the course of a school year. A rental agreement is signed by the parent/guardian before the books are handed over to the student. All schools insist that parents/guardians accompany the students on the days of distribution of textbooks in order to sign this contract. Recently, parents/guardians have been required to purchase:
Some of these are “one-off” purchases which last a student throughout his/her school career. A carefully organised programme ensures that books are returned at the end of the school year. The books are collected and placed in subject groups. The stock cards are updated and the damaged or lost books taken account of. Fines are levied where necessary e.g. for deliberate damage or for lost or non-returned books. A certificate is issued to the student to verify the return of the books. No new books are issued unless this certificate is presented and all outstanding liabilities settled. Once this is completed , the process of sorting for the new school year is done and dates organised early for the issuing of the new set of books. At this point the rental fee for the new school year is collected by the accounting officers of the school. Neither the teacher in charge nor his assistants participate in the collection of fees. SUSTAINING THE SCHEME Book Life Normally we expect books to last between three and five years. Soft cover books have a shorter life - sometimes only one year. On the other hand, hard cover books can last up to eight years. Unfortunately over 70% of the titles ordered for use in school are soft cover books. These are generally cheaper, but their useful lives exceedingly short. An example at First Form level shows that out of 19 texts used, just about 20% are in hard cover.
Approximately 10% – 15% of the books issued to each form level will be lost or damaged over the course of a school year. Parents/guardians are required to pay the current cost of replacement of texts not returned. A number of clearly articulated school penalties is written into the standard contract signed by parents and guardians each year. Minimising Loss and Damage Since minimisation of cost is so important to the life and sustainability of the scheme, the following measures are encouraged by the school:
Such efforts are extremely important in the maintenance of the rental scheme because replacement costs are so high. It is most significant that the cost of soft cover books is in no way commensurate with their useful lives when compared with similar books in hard cover. Since the rental scheme must be self-sustaining and operating costs are constantly rising, all efforts must be made to ensure that the best value is received at minimum cost and the lives of texts are maximised. Beyond that, the only recourse would be increased loan fees. CONCLUSION Textbook rental schemes are important in the provision of equity of opportunity in the educational systems in developing countries. A new challenge to be met is the use of Information Technology in teaching and learning in the classroom. This will necessitate a broadening of the scope of schemes to take into account the cost of hardware and software and Internet access. The impact of easily available material on the Internet will be reflected in the conceptualisation and organisation of a textbook rental scheme. The creation of core curricula, the emphasis on indigenous material in the textbooks used, the demand for relevant content that relates to children’s experiences, have created a market for an indigenous writing and publishing industry. This development and its adoption in the schools has been facilitated by the presence of viable textbook rental schemes in the educational system.
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