[A2k] The Jakarta Post: Cheaper schoolbooks

[Vera Franz]

*Editorial: Cheaper schoolbooks*=0D
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Wed, 04/23/2008 1:07 AM  |  Opinion=0D
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How do you make school textbooks cheaper? The government has turned to a=0D
combination of old traditions and modern technology to beat book prices,=0D
considered one of the sources for the high cost of education in this=0D
country. Let's hope it works.=0D
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The new book policy, introduced in 2005 but for some reason still not=0D
widely known to the public, involves lengthening the shelf life of a=0D
book to a minimum of five years, buying up the copyrights of as many=0D
school textbooks as the government can afford and uploading them in=0D
digital form to the Internet and making them available for free download=0D
to those who need them.=0D
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National Education Minister Bambang Sudibyo, who explained the policy at=0D
a news conference on Friday, acknowledged there are bound to be winners=0D
and losers as a result of any new policy. In the case of the new book=0D
policy, the winners are parents and students through cheaper books. The=0D
biggest losers are book publishers and bureaucrats at the National=0D
Education Ministry who for years have colluded to make book prices=0D
expensive.=0D
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"There isn't going to be any monopoly over school textbooks. There isn't=0D
even going to be oligopolies," the minister said.=0D
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Extending the life of school textbooks to five years from the present=0D
one year would mean that books could be passed down to younger siblings,=0D
donated to poor families or sold to secondhand bookstores. The policy=0D
would also revive used textbook markets around the country.=0D
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Hand-me down books were the norm and secondhand book markets did brisk=0D
business until sometime in the 1970s when the government decided that=0D
schoolbooks were only good for one year. This meant that each year,=0D
publishers gleefully came out with new editions of each book and found a=0D
captive market with the help of the government. School textbooks became=0D
lucrative "projects", many of them funded with foreign aid.=0D
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But while book publishers prospered, parents had to buy new books each=0D
year for every child, and after the child went through these books, they=0D
were of no further use to anyone, not younger siblings nor poor kids in=0D
the neighborhood. These used books were only good for the recycling=0D
industry. Every year, each book was "revised and updated" even for=0D
subjects that don't change very often like mathematics and geography.=0D
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This was nothing short of robbery in the guise of education. That we=0D
allowed this scam to go on for decades shows how tolerant this nation=0D
has become of corruption. If this new policy means the closure of some=0D
of the country's largest book publishers, so be it.=0D
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Minister Bambang has gone one further in beating book prices, turning to=0D
the digital world to make books even more accessible and affordable to=0D
more people. The government has allocated Rp 20 billion (US$2.19=0D
million) this year to buy the copyrights of widely used school textbooks=0D
and upload them to the Internet.=0D
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Students will then be free to download and print the books. The=0D
government is even encouraging people to print them out and resell them,=0D
knowing they cannot charge too much or people will simply turn to the=0D
original source. With the One Laptop For Every Child concept soon coming=0D
to Indonesia, perhaps there will be no need for anyone to print books,=0D
with e-books taking over.=0D
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Here is one example of how the Internet can help the government achieve=0D
its objectives: the dissemination of books. This wonderful technology=0D
has so many possibilities that have not been fully exploited for=0D
education and for governance.=0D
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Rather than fearing its impact on society and seeking to control or=0D
restrain the use of the Internet (as some other members of the Cabinet=0D
are prone to do), the government would do well to follow the National=0D
Education Ministry and maximize the use of this constantly evolving=0D
technology to improve services to the public.=0D
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E-government, it seems, is just around the corner.=0D
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Copyright =A9 2008 The Jakarta Post - PT Bina Media Tenggara. All Rights=0D
Reserved.=0D
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