TEXTBOOKS for primary schools should be arriving on time for the start of the new school year next month, according to Dorrett Campbell, the director of communications for the Ministry of Education.

Government will be spending just under $300 million for primary texts, and approximately $490 million on the provision of secondary school textbooks.

Campbell, in an interview with JIS News, said the first batch of primary school texts were expected to arrive on August 12, and the others on August 26 and September 2.

“This is the first time, we are pleased to say, that delivery of primary textbooks is on target and that we’re not going to be too far behind with the delivery of secondary textbooks,” the communications director said.

She said the printing of the primary school textbooks was done by the Trinidadian-based Eniaths Printing Company, and that the first batch of books due in the island were being packaged for schools in Kingston, St Andrew and St Thomas.

She added that Cabinet has approved the awarding of contracts to Carlong Publishing Ltd. and Mid-Island Educators to supply Integrated Science Workbooks for Terms 2 and 3 of Grade 1 and Grade 4, respectively. “So they [the students] are being given the texts and they will also be given the workbooks,” she said.

Secondary school textbooks, she said would be on loan. “We’re not renting them, because the government has assumed responsibility for the fee… and the students are expected to return these textbooks at the end of the school year,” Campbell said.

She said that as far as procurement was concerned, procedures had to be meticulously followed, and as such the ministry had just been advised that Cabinet had approved the awarding of contracts to local publishers, Carlong Publishers, Kingston Bookshop, Sangsters Book Store and the Book Wizard.

Campbell noted that even though some of the texts would be delivered at the end of September, this did not necessarily mean that students would be without books, as schools had texts in the system from previous school years. “We replenish their stock annually,” she said.

. Programme extended to junior high, all-age schools

THE government of Jamaica has extended its secondary school textbook programme to junior high and all-age institutions.

Communications director in the Ministry of Education Dorrett Campbell told JIS News that the move would take effect for the start of the new school year in September.

“The government has announced that it will absorb 50 per cent of the tuition inclusive of textbooks for all secondary level students and that includes the secondary segment of primary and junior highs and the secondary part of all-age schools. Those were not included in the textbook programme before,” she informed.

Meanwhile, Campbell said that since the government undertook to pay half of the tuition cost, some schools have increased other fees and this has had the net effect of eroding the savings that parents would have realised.

She expressed the hope that the ministry would be able to work out an arrangement with school administrators, which served the best interest of all stakeholders.

“We do recognise that they [administrators] very often need an additional contribution to be able to run the school effectively and to deal with their operational costs. So, we want to meet with them to work out a solution whereby they are still able to operate their schools efficiently, and the parents still benefit from the government’s reduction of the school fees, so that we get…a win-win situation,” she said.