High Price For US Gift

SOME weeks ago, America donated a vast number of textbooks to Namibia and other SADC countries.The books were written, printed and published in America.

On the face of it, this seems a wonderful gesture. However, it raises a number of questions.In all the recipient countries, the normal procedure is that publishers submit their textbooks to the various subject committees of the local equivalents of Namibia’s National Institute for Educational Development (NIED) for approval.Did this happen with the American textbooks? What will happen in two or three years’ time when schools need to replace or buy extra copies of the textbooks? Will America donate more? Will the Education Ministries of the recipient countries have to buy the books from America with all the extra costs of shipping and VAT? What effect will it have on the local publishing industry in the recipient countries? The books are to be in the three main subject areas of the Upper Primary Phase.A substantial portion of the market in an already precarious industry will be eroded.This will mean smaller profit margins and therefore less money to subsidise the production of textbooks in less prominent subjects, for example the higher levels of local languages.It will also mean that money previously invested by publishers in the production of new textbooks in the ‘donation’ subjects will probably not be recouped.This seems a high price to pay for a gift.Lesley Geekie Dawe Via e-mailHowever, it raises a number of questions.In all the recipient countries, the normal procedure is that publishers submit their textbooks to the various subject committees of the local equivalents of Namibia’s National Institute for Educational Development (NIED) for approval.Did this happen with the American textbooks? What will happen in two or three years’ time when schools need to replace or buy extra copies of the textbooks? Will America donate more? Will the Education Ministries of the recipient countries have to buy the books from America with all the extra costs of shipping and VAT? What effect will it have on the local publishing industry in the recipient countries? The books are to be in the three main subject areas of the Upper Primary Phase.A substantial portion of the market in an already precarious industry will be eroded.This will mean smaller profit margins and therefore less money to subsidise the production of textbooks in less prominent subjects, for example the higher levels of local languages.It will also mean that money previously invested by publishers in the production of new textbooks in the ‘donation’ subjects will probably not be recouped.This seems a high price to pay for a gift.Lesley Geekie Dawe Via e-mail