Minister promises quality, affordable textbooks for all

Erwida Maulia ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Sat, 04/19/2008 12:24 PM  |  Headlines

Students across the country are to have their right to cheap and quality textbooks guaranteed by the state.

The government is preparing a bill on schoolbooks to regulate the provision of textbooks at schools and ensure their quality and low price.

National Education Minister Bambang Sudibyo said here Friday his office had finished the draft of the bill, and was currently awaiting the President's approval before submitting it to the House of Representatives for deliberation.

"We need to have a law on this book policy so as to ensure that any change of guard (at the Education Ministry) will not change the policy," said Bambang.

The minister may leave office next year, following President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's end of tenure.

The government is launching a national book policy through which it will buy the copyrights to 295 textbooks for elementary schools, junior high schools, high schools and vocational high schools by the end of the year.

So far the government has bought the copyrights to 49 textbooks, paying between Rp 45 million (approximately US$4,900) and Rp 75 million each. The retail prices of the books range from Rp 4,000 to Rp 14,000.

The government has allocated Rp 20 billion (approximately $2.19 million) to purchase the copyrights to the remaining 246 textbooks this year.

Textbooks used at schools must meet the quality standards set by the Education Ministry. The National Education Standards Body will select which books will have their copyrights purchased, based on quality and price considerations.

Owning the copyrights to the books, the government will have the right to set ceiling retail prices and allow the public to print, copy and distribute the books either individually, in groups or through legal entities.

The books will be available for free downloading at www.depdiknas.go.id, www.pusbuk.or.id and www.sibi.or.id.

The new book policy regulates that each of the textbooks has a use period of at least five years. It is hoped this will prevent textbooks from changing every year so students can use the same books used by their older siblings or relatives.

Schools are only allowed to stop using books if there are substantial changes to student competency standards or the curriculum, if the books are declared unqualified by the education minister or banned by the attorney general.

Schools are allowed to choose their own textbooks for subjects in which the ministry has yet to purchase the copyrights to books.

However, schools, teachers, school committees, as well as publishers and officials are not allowed to sell textbooks to students. Students can only buy the books at stores.

To accommodate students who cannot afford to buy the books, the government is urging schools to carry the books in their libraries and lend them to the students.

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