Emirates Education launches an initiative to recycle it

Used textbooks for sale on social media

  • The school book recycling initiative aims to emphasize the importance of the textbook.

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  • Advertisement with “groups” on social media platforms.

    Emirates today

  • The advertisements covered different curricula.

    Emirates today

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A teacher warned of the danger of circulating used books in light of the “Corona” pandemic.

He said that the books may contain inaccurate answers from the previous user (the seller) to the questions asked on their pages, pointing out that the wrong answer may be stuck in the mind of the new user of the book (the buyer), causing confusion.

Two main factors contributed to the popularity of selling used textbooks on social media platforms immediately after the end of the school year exams. The first is the book owner's desire to benefit from the sums obtained from selling them, and the second is the desire to buy textbooks at low prices compared to the prices of new textbooks.

"Emirates Today" monitored many advertisements of students' families in "groups" on the social networking platform "Facebook", about the sale of textbooks for different grades starting from kindergarten to 12, especially the books of the Ministry of Education curriculum.

It also spotted search ads for textbooks at low prices.

A mother of two students posted an advertisement on “Facebook” about “books for the seventh and ninth grades in excellent condition and at a symbolic price.” A person announced the existence of books for the sixth grade (for the three semesters), asking to replace them with books for the seventh grade.

A woman posted an advertisement in which she confirmed that she had books for the seventh grade (for the three semesters) at nominal prices.

Another stated that she has books for all semesters of the third and seventh grades, and books for the first semester of the sixth grade, pointing out that their combined price is 400 dirhams.

And by contacting the owner of one of the advertisements, she stated that “the courses are the same and have not changed for a while, so she sells used books in order to benefit from the money she earns from selling them, and the guardian of the student who bought the books benefits from their low prices.”

She explained that "the living conditions that some families are going through due to the repercussions of the (Corona) pandemic have prompted many of them to search for less expensive textbooks, so that they can face this stage."

She added, "Many students' families contacted me immediately after the publication of the book sale announcement, because the displayed price is much lower than the original price."

Teacher Imad Khalil said that relying on used books during study is not beneficial for the student, and may be more harmful, because used books circulated for sale via social media platforms are not safe from transmitting the “Corona” virus, as their dealers will not mean to sterilize them, as they may include wrong answers. For the questions of the courses in them, the student and his guardian adopt them, and thus he will not benefit from them, but rather they will become a source for receiving the wrong information.

He called on students' parents to wait for the books issued by the Ministry and the Emirates Foundation for School Education, in order to ensure access to the approved and correct courses, indicating that the courses may undergo some changes, by deleting some lessons or adding another.

It was not possible to obtain a response from the Ministry of Education about the students’ display of their children’s textbooks for sale on social media, and whether there will be a change in the curricula for the next academic year or not.

On the other hand, the Emirates Foundation for School Education has set the guiding steps in implementing the book recycling initiative, indicating the stages of delivery, storage, collection and circulation of books and the precautionary measures that must be followed to prevent the “Corona” virus.

It identified 22 book collection centers distributed across the emirates, with 10 centers at the level of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and 12 centers in Dubai and the rest of the Emirates.

The Foundation stressed to ensure that textbooks delivered to schools are exposed to the sun for at least one day, sterilized before being placed in transparent plastic bags, sterilized the bags, and made sure that they are not touched until after wearing protective gloves, and delivered in the receiving areas that parents are notified of. , confirming that it will not be delivered if it is touched by exposed hands or if the bags are damaged or touched by another person.

The school book recycling initiative aims to emphasize the importance and value of the textbook, instill the value of preserving it, promote the idea of ​​environmental sustainability among students, and support the state's initiatives in the field of environmental sustainability.

The Foundation called on the target audience and those in charge of the initiative to actively participate in it, given its lofty goals and values ​​that would emphasize the importance of the textbook as a receptacle of knowledge that can be used and rotated in the hands of students, at various levels of study, in a manner that reflects the values ​​of giving that students possess and in a manner that enhances They have a culture of sustainability.

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