Textbooks and School Library : Provision in Secondary Education in Sub-Saharan Africa

World Bank

Washington, DC : World Bank

关键词: ACCESS TO TEXTBOOKS;    ADOLESCENTS;    AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE;    BASIC EDUCATION;    BASIC EDUCATION POLICY;   

DOI  :  10.1596/978-0-8213-7344-6
RP-ID  :  42541

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

This study discusses secondary textbookand school library availability in Africa, its cost andfinancing, and its distribution and publishing. The studyobjective is to analyze the issues and provide some optionsand strategies for improvement. Reforms are urgentlyrequired in the secondary school systems of most Africancountries in order to: (a) reduce the number of textbooksand reference books required by secondary educationcurricula; (b) reduce the unit costs of textbooks; (c)increase the target book life thus increasing costamortization and reducing annual textbook fees/budgets; (d)increase the financing allocated to textbook provision fromeither government or parents and; (e) ensure that curriculachange does not make expensive materials redundant too earlyor too often. The conclusion to be drawn is that if areliable market exists local publishing can develop toservice it, even in direct competition with multinationals.The market does not necessarily have to be large. Thecritical factor is predictability. If publishers areconfident that funding will be available, from whateversource, year after year then local publishing will emerge toserve that market. This is perhaps most clearly demonstratedin Botswana where a tiny but reliable and reasonablypredictable secondary school sector has five competingapproved textbooks in some secondary subjects.