Textbooks scarcity in libraries

One month after school has resumed, the scarcity of textbooks is still flagrant in Cameroon. Students have started classes without these textbooks and teachers are also managing without it. Parents complain about the situation.

Why, till now, don’t we have the textbooks prescribed by the government in libraries, meanwhile the list of these textbooks was published at the end of the last academic year? Moreover, the government and the publishing houses have promised that these books will be available before the new academic year. Some parents however succeed to get some of their kids’ textbooks and when asked how they manage to do this, Mrs. Rolanda replies that she had to go through several libraries during a whole week. She left her number in some libraries who could call her when they had the textbooks she needed. “I have not yet bought all the textbooks for my children, but at least the most important ones”.

Though the list of the textbooks prescribed by the government was followed by a list of unique price for each textbook, the scarcity gets the prices higher due to the high demand facing the low offer, especially for the most hard to find. Mr Eloudou, a parent of two primary school pupils, shared with us that he noticed that the textbooks are less expensive than last year. Nevertheless, he wasn’t prepared to buy so many new textbooks, as the juniors was supposed to use their elder’s books; now that he bought those new textbooks, he’s enjoying the price advantage and the fact that he would not have to lose money and time for moving from a library to another anymore. Many people in small towns like Ebolowa, Bangangté or Batouri have to reach the division to find these books. Some of them even decided to come to Yaounde, like Mrs. Rosine who came from Bangangté in west region of Cameroon to buy children’s textbooks. “There was no chance I could find these textbooks in Bangangté; I even tried in Baffoussam but they were out of stock. So I just decided to come to Yaounde”, she said.

This is the way many parents have been going up and down to buy textbooks. For most of them, they decided not to worry about it again. Their children are going to school normally and teachers are trying to cope with the situation, because all students can be allowed in classes, with or without textbooks. Parents rely on the information given by the publishing houses, saying that a cargo of books is shipping to Cameroon and will soon be there. They chose patience instead of spending extra money. Every parent hopes that this situation would not prejudice their children who have to sit next to classmates who hold textbooks, in order to copy lessons and do exercises.

Did the government really plan the schedule of this one textbook policy? Even if the majority is happy about this policy, they feel no disappointment about the scarcity of textbooks. Let’s say this is the first year with this policy and every beginning is never easy. So we hope that next year, things will be more organized.

                                                              ZEBAZE CHOUNNA Annie