Weeks after official school resumption: National Book Commission edifies public on textbook availability.

This was during a presser organised at the institution’s in Yaounde. The press outing followed a guided tour to some bookshops in the nation’s capital city.

The presser was granted by the President of the Commission, Jean Paul Komon. He was glanced by his close collaborators, the Vice President of the Commission, Prof Rosalyn Mutia and the Permanent Secretary, Prof Marcelin Vounda Etoa.

The President of the Commission said the tour had as aim to confirm the availability of textbooks in bookshops, as well as keep the education community and the general public informed.

“We have a duty to make sure that textbooks are accessible and available to the general public. We have been hearing rumours that there are no books available but we want to clarify all this and assure the public that books are available,” Komon stated.

He further noted that the official list of validated textbooks was signed early enough by both the Ministers of Basic and Secondary Education.

Komon mentioned that the list was validated five months ahead of the official reopening of schools, giving publishers ample time to produce and distribute their books. 

Only four out of 332 books unavailable as of now

Komon disclosed that a total of 332 books were validated for both primary and secondary schools for the 2024/2025 academic year in the English and French sub systems of education.

“These books, based on our observations and findings were duly produced. By the time schools were reopening, about 18 had not made it to our markets. As of this week, only four of these books are not yet available for some reasons beyond our control but they will be available anytime from now,” Komon explained. 

Problems encountered

CNAMSMD president revealed that some books have been delayed due to transportation issues. He said some books are still en route from Asia where they were produced. 

Komon added that some of the books were also delayed at the port as they had issues with custom clearance. He said they have received good word that those issues have been resolved.

According to Komon, there is also the issue of distribution. He highlighted that Cameroon has only ten available distributors and only three have full capacity to distribute nationwide. 

Another problem is the resources of the bookshop. He mentioned that while some bookshops have the capacity to command books in large scale, others cannot. He said some also command books based on their clientele.

According to the officials, book publishers have stopped working with booksellers on a hire purchase basis. Officials said they prefer cash on delivery so bookshops with limited resources cannot afford buying a lot of books.

Parents assured 

On his part, the Permanent Secretary of the Commission, Prof Marcelin Vounda Etoa, assured parents that the books still lacking will be available as soon as possible.

“We received information from some distributors that some of the unavailable books are already at the Port and in the process of being cleared by customs,” he stated.

He added that: “Some of the books that are not available are not urgent for immediate use and when they arrive, they will correspond to the academic calendar without prejudice to the students”.

Issues with technical school books

The president pf the commission explained that the problem with technical education books is that most of the books on their official list are foreign books and without distributors, the availability of those books in the market is close to impossible.

He, however, urged inspectors of technical education to re-orientate the selection of books for technical school.

“The booklist we produced for technical education was based on what was given to us by technical education inspectors. We validated and signed their list but we did not publish. There is still a lot of work to be done with the selection of technical education books. The books have to be selected based on the environment they will be used in. We are seriously working on adapting technical education books to our environment,” he assured.

Some schools defying official booklist

The officials regretted that some schools are in total defiance of the official booklist that was validated by us and signed by the Ministers in charge.

“Our hands are tied and we cannot really do much as per sanctioning. What we do is observe, file reports to the ministries concerned and the National Anti-Corruption Commission, NACC. Sometimes the prices of books added on the official list are too high, which punishes parents especially those of modest means,” Komon stated.

Booksellers say availability at 95%

Some booksellers who spoke to reporters reiterated that just a few books are missing from their shelves. 

“We are at almost 95% of the availability of books. By mid-August the books were scarce but as of today, almost all the books are available. However, sometimes demand exceeds supply. We give parents dates they can come back and check the books they are looking for based in what the publishers, authors and distributors tell us,” Ceduan Gandzeyen, a bookshop manager stated.

Another bookshop owner, Samge Leovis, told reporters that their book availability is at 96%, adding that: “We have been assured those lacking are coming”. 

Enter parents 

Most parents who have been visiting bookshops admit that just one or two books on the official list are lacking.

“My children have almost all their textbooks except for Mathematics textbook, for my child in Upper sixth and French for my child in form 3 that I am still searching for. They are however available in the market but finished. I have been asked to come back in the days ahead for them,” said Mekali Fidelis, a parent.

Another parent, whose name we got only as Mama Elizabeth, mentioned that she has bought all textbooks except for one particular Chemistry book which has been difficult to find. She however remained hopeful that she will eventually find it.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post issue No:3238 of Monday September 23, 2024