Is there a solution to high pricing of primary and secondary school textbooks in Bulawayo?
Loading...
Date
2022
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
The objective of the study was to investigate the causes of the high cost of primary and secondary school textbooks in Bulawayo and establish if there is a possible solution to the pricing of books. The study was a descriptive qualitative and quantitative survey. Data were collected through 90 questionnaires (having distributed 105) and seven in-depth interviews from parents, primary and secondary school teachers, ministry officials, printing companies, retailers/bookshops, street vendors and photocopying business people. The study found that high textbook pricing was a result of parents’ low income and reduced disposable income, the import duty, the economic hardships, the scarcity of textbooks and the use of middlemen in the supply chain. As a result, parents opted for cheaper alternatives such as photocopying, buying from street vendors or flea markets, while some totally forgo purchasing new textbooks and rely on schools to provide. Some parents wait for donors to chip in, or use the Internet, or sell each other photocopied books, while private schools provided all study materials hence they were not directly affected by the high cost of textbooks. The study recommended Government to consider strongly supporting local publishing and printing of secondary textbooks. It further urged local publishers to go electronic and charge lower prices since they will not incur printing costs. It was also recommended that schools should consider e-books for ‘O’ and ‘A’ Levels in an effort to reduce the costs of textbooks at these two levels.
Description
Keywords
Citation
Mhone, N.; Ndlovu, M.J.; Zulu, E.; Masukume, C.; Tlou, F.N. (2022) Is there a solution to high pricing of primary and secondary school textbooks in Bulawayo? The journal of liberal arts education, 2022; 1(3) The journal of liberal arts education, 2022; 1(3) The journal of liberal arts education, 2022; 1(3), pp. 18-25