Parents throng bookstores for cheaper textbooks in UAE

Nearly a thousand parents thronged at private school book stores in Bur Dubai, Karama, and Sharjah owing to exorbitant prices of books in the schools.-Supplied photo

A large crowd of parents from various Indian schools in Dubai and Sharjah thronged private bookstores in Bur Dubai, Sharjah, Karama and Deira to get their hands on cheaper textbooks for their kids.
Owing to "exorbitant prices" of school textbooks, parents said they are now "running from pillar to post" in search of more affordable options, with some even resorting to photocopies of the books.
It has been almost two weeks since schools reopened on April 1, but many parents have not been able to purchase textbooks for their children yet.
Based on the images and videos that Khaleej Times has received from the community, hundreds of parents appeared to have turned up at Goyal Books in Bur Dubai as soon as the store's sale began on Monday (April 8) evening.
The head of Goyal Book Shop and president of an association of school book publishers in India, Dinesh Goyal, told Khaleej Times: "We received 1,400 pre-orders for Indian High School textbooks this month. We had them couriered to Dubai, and we sold them to nearly 500 parents on Monday night for Dh300. Another 500 were sold on Tuesday (April 9). We will continue to sell books till our stocks last, and as per the demand from the parent community, we can arrange more copies."
Books sell like hotcakes
Pradeep of Iris International School Supplies, on the other hand, said the company began its sale of Indian High School textbooks on Tuesday, and 200 sets were sold in the morning alone.
"Our prices are at the Dh500-Dh700 range, depending on the classes. The morning we began the sale, the stores were very crowded," said Pradeep.
Major Indian curriculum schools are charging anything from Dh600 to Dh1,300 for book kits, not including certain subject books.
For example, a parent of a student at Sharjah Indian School said he has to shell out Dh1,000 for textbooks and uniforms.
"If we have to buy books and uniform from the school, it is going to cost us Dh1,000. Outside, it costs Dh500. However, there is a marked difference in the quality of uniforms," said A Shah.
Khaleej Times covered the issue of high book prices at Dubai's Indian High School earlier this week, where parents complained that book kits were being sold at Dh900 to Dh1,300.
For parents with more than one child, these prices were unaffordable, they said. However, the school's management, led by CEO Ashok Kumar, clarified in a a previous statement to Khaleej Times that parents are free to purchase the books from other vendors.
Books not readily available
Since the 57-year-old school changed its curriculum for the 2018-19 academic year, the books were not readily available in retail outlets, Goyal said.
"Some of the books we've provided may have two to three chapters that are missing. However, we have informed parents about these changes," he said.
Apart from the sale of Indian High School textbooks, seven to eight per cent of Goyal's books' on sale are also used in other Indian schools in the UAE.
He said this is usually a hectic time for book vendors in the GCC sector. Book sales usually begin on March 20 and continue till April 3, all across the GCC.
Goyal also revealed that there had been a drop in their sales in the past few years as the number of books is decreasing.
"The Indian government is encouraging schools to use books issued by NCERT and reduce the number of books to lessen the weight of schoolbags," he said.
In the case of some Dubai schools, requirement lists revealed that students were instructed to use textbooks, workbooks and other reference books, hiking the prices of book sets.
High textbook prices also seem to have become a problem for all parents - including those whose kids study in other schools - at the start of the academic year.
Rodrigo, a parent whose kid is enrolled in The Philippine School in Dubai, wrote to Khaleej Times, saying his child's school was charging an average of Dh2,500 per set.
Another parent, who has a child at Delhi Private School Dubai, said he has had to shell out Dh1,700 for the textbooks.
Progressive Indian School, on the other hand, is selling book sets for Dh717.
Parents resort to photocopying
Indian High School parent Rashmi, buckled under pressure from her child, decided to buy books from a private vendor on Monday morning.
"I purchased the books from Iris Books Supplies store. I looked for his books even in India, and I felt so guilty for sending him to school without his books. What I could afford, I purchased, the rest I will make photocopies and bind them for my son," she said.
"Goyal is selling a few textbooks, but I heard some of the chapters are missing. Many parents who didn't buy from Goyal are resorting to photocopying the books," she added.
"We were told that as long as kids do not carry loose sheets to the school, it is okay."
Khaleej Times reached out to a computer shop in Sharjah, which confirmed that it has been getting several photocopy orders.
"We are charging Dh25 per book and Dh250 for the entire set. However, we have avoided taking orders as of now as it could lead to issues with the publishers of the books."
dhanusha@khaleejtimes.com

Dhanusha Gokulan

• dhanusha@khaleejtimes.com