By Garba Musa Hamza
The Kano State chapter of the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools has commended the Kano State Office of the Nigerian Copyright Commission for its efforts to fight book piracy.
The state chairman of the association, Alhaji Imam Hamisu Zubair, made this known during an interview with Radio Nigeria in Kano.
Alhaji Hamisu Zubair said it was unfair for publishers to spend huge amounts of money producing quality textbooks, only for some people to copy and reproduce them without maintaining the required quality, and then sell them to parents at cheaper prices.
He said such pirated textbooks do not last long because they are often of poor quality and may become damaged before the end of the school term.
According to him, textbooks produced by publishing companies at a high cost cannot be compared with poorly produced copies.
Alhaji Zubair also said parents should not be forced to buy textbooks from schools, stressing that they have the right to choose where to purchase books for their children.
On his part, the Secretary of the Booksellers Association at Sabon Gari Market, Alhaji Umar Musa Gama, who spoke on behalf of the association’s chairman, Mr Emeka Uadeozo, alleged that some publishing companies work with certain private schools to prevent parents from buying textbooks from the open market.
Alhaji Umar said the allegation that booksellers sell poor-quality textbooks was not true, adding that such claims could be an attempt to reduce their business because they sell books at affordable prices.
He called on parents and relevant authorities to monitor the types of textbooks supplied to private schools, especially books that are rarely found in the open market but are sold to parents at high prices.
Alhaji Umar Gama also commended the Kano State Government for introducing a law aimed at preventing private school owners from increasing school fees without a valid reason.
He urged the relevant authorities to continue monitoring how textbooks are produced and distributed to private schools.
Also speaking on the issue, Comrade Umar Hassan said schools should not be treated as business centres, but as institutions for teaching and learning.
He, however, said there was nothing wrong with schools buying textbooks from the market and selling them to parents.
He said the problem arises when schools force parents to buy specific textbooks, especially when such books are sold at high prices.
Comrade Umar further alleged that some schools work with publishing companies to produce textbooks that are not readily available in the open market, giving the schools the opportunity to sell them to parents at high prices.
He appealed to authors and publishing companies to consider the financial situation of parents and make quality textbooks available at affordable prices.
He also called on the agency responsible for supervising private schools, under the leadership of Baba Umar, to continue its efforts to address challenges affecting private schools.
