Warnings of the danger to students, both health and education
Parents launch a market for "used" textbooks on "communication"
Buying used books carries a lot of risks and problems.
From the source
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Social networking sites are witnessing continuous offers to sell used textbooks for all school levels, published by students' parents and members of "groups" specialized in selling "user".
Buyers emphasized that their economic conditions due to the Corona pandemic are what prompted them to search for alternatives to reduce expenses, noting that the prices of new textbooks represent a financial burden on them.
Two administrators in private schools have identified three reasons that they said make used books "out of service": The first is that they may be a source of transmission of Corona infection, the second is that their contents are updated annually, and the third is that they contain answers to training questions at the end of each topic, written by students who They used it before.
In detail, Emirates Today spotted advertisements for selling used textbooks on social media platforms, confirming the availability of different curricula.
Selling books after the academic year has passed is a way to recover part of the amount paid by the student’s family for obtaining them. It also allows the other student’s families to obtain books at a lower price compared to the price at which new copies are sold.
The newspaper monitored fees for different curriculum books, including "Al Wazari", "Al American" and "Al Britani", which ranged in private schools in Dubai and the Northern Emirates between 900 and 2000 dirhams, in addition to book fees, which amounted to 650 dirhams, in addition to 1800 dirhams, the value of a device. A computer bearing the logo and the school system, which constitutes additional financial exhaustion in light of what many families suffer from the consequences of the Corona pandemic.
Mothers of students confirmed that they stopped paying the fees for books, school uniforms and buses, which constitute large sums compared to the capabilities of their families, and they looked for alternatives, including used books, using the uniforms of the last school year, and not participating in school transport, to reduce expenses.
Relatives of students told «Emirates Today» that schools are exaggerating the fees for textbooks, so they are looking for used books so that they do not incur additional financial burdens that strain their budget in light of their declining financial income.
Alia Al-Nadi (student's mother) said: “I used to buy books from school despite the high price, but the reduction in my husband’s salary due to (Corona) prompted us to search for another source to get books at the lowest prices, and we found our way in the ads posted on social media to sell used books. ».
Regarding the possibility that some academic subjects in used books may be different from new books, she emphasized that she is keen to buy the edition of the book that is used in the school.
Heba Saleh mentioned that she had three daughters, and she was buying books from school despite the high price. However, she was finally surprised that the old books she had had occupied a large area of her daughters ’room, which prompted her to subscribe to a specialized group on Facebook. In selling used books.
For its part, the deputy director of Ibn Khaldoun Private School, Faten Saeed, said that buying books and uniforms from the school is not mandatory, especially in light of the "Covid-19" pandemic.
But she warned that buying used books carries a lot of risks and problems, including the possibility that they are transmitting the virus because they are transmitted from one person to another without sterilization, and they are also subject to updating, and some of their topics may differ from year to year.
Another problem is that it includes answers to training questions for each lesson, which deprives the buyer of training on lessons questions.
She added that the teacher cannot follow the student’s books if he is receiving his education through the “virtual education” model. Therefore, the differences between new and used books cannot be explained in most cases, noting that many students ’parents have notified their school administrations that they will not buy the books. From school, because they can get it another way.
For her part, an administrator in a private school, who preferred not to be named, said that the majority of school administrations do not mind using used books under the circumstances of the Corona pandemic, especially if they have not changed.
However, she stressed the need to sterilize the books before using them, pointing out that buying books from the school guarantees the safety of students and their families from the possibility of them being infected with Corona infection, and ensuring that the books do not contain inappropriate subjects or drawings.
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"I have full tenth grade books for the second and third semesters, used and of high quality at an affordable price," Maalan wrote.
Another wrote: “I have British books, and a fourth grade American curriculum was written at reasonable prices,” and attached to the announcement the names of the two schools that study these books.
Also, a group on Facebook announced the availability of clean, full classroom books for the three semesters at an affordable price.
Other groups ran advertisements for selling second-hand textbooks with home delivery service.
The mother of two students in the third and fifth grades asked advertisers to provide her with the ministerial curriculum books for these two grades if they were available, and others requested the ministerial curriculum books for physics and chemistry for the eleventh grade, and the science books for the third grade.
"Some students sell textbooks to recover part of their price, and others buy them to reduce expenses."
Buying books from the school guarantees the safety of the student and his family from the possibility of infection with Corona.
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