The Book Industry Organisation of Trinidad and Tobago (BIOTT) is set to meet with Education Minister Anthony Garcia today to discuss how publishers and booksellers can continue to work together harmoniously to resolve issues arising out of the Textbook Rental/Loan Programme (TRLP).
Responding to Garcia’s statements on Wednesday that there was a widespread racket involving the sale of textbooks belonging to the Ministry of Education, BIOTT president, Rico Charran, said they were “disturbed” by the minister’s attack on booksellers and publishers as he claimed they had a part to play in the “textbook racket.”
Charran said yesterday: “To be clear, there is no textbook racket.”
During a press conference earlier this week, Garcia produced a Language Arts textbook which he claimed was sold by an Arima bookseller and contained a seal from the ministry in which it was advised the sale of the book was illegal and was the property of the Government.
Seeking to explain how such a textbook could have ended up in the hands of the booksellers, Charran confirmed he had spoken with officials from the Arima store where the book was reportedly sold.
He said the books could have come from two publishers affiliated with the TRLP.
This, out of more than 20 publishers who are registered to supply textbooks to the ministry for use in the TRLP.
Pointing out it was not the fault of the bookseller, Charran said there were more issues at play, much of which the public was not privy.
He added: “The textbooks were printed with the Government label since last year in anticipation of Government orders. To date, the ministry has not ordered or paid for any textbooks for the TRLP.
The Education Minister promised to have textbooks available in schools since January 2016. As there have been no orders, the textbooks remain the sole property of the publisher.
“I reiterate that these books are not ministry’s property as there have been no orders or payment for them.”
He said as a result, the publishers were free to sell the books to whomever they desired.
The BIOTT head added: “The publishers released them to booksellers in response to numerous requests from anxious parents concerned over the availability of textbooks.”
Revealing what the process entailed, Charran added: “In preparation for sale to the public, the Government label was covered by an opaque adhesive sticker which was a cheaper and better alternative than to destroy the covers.”
Charran said ministry officials had not been honest with the public as he added: “The publishers have also stated that the ministry was aware and approved of the practice of covering the Government sticker since 2009/2010.”
Asked what advice he would give to parents anxious to buy textbooks for their children as they prepared for the reopening of schools in September, Charran replied:
“To ease the concerns of parents, teachers and students, BIOTT recommends that the industry continue to sell all textbooks, including those in the TRLP.”
Going forward, he assured the BIOTT would liaise with publishers to review guidelines for the printing and sale of textbooks related to TRLP.