Streamline school books sector by fighting piracy

As the Ministry of Education, the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development, education stakeholders and schools across the country prepare for the first term of the new academic year in January, it is important to use the remaining three-week window to streamline the distribution of books to learning institutions.

In the past two months, there has been both a shortage of the recommended books and lack of clarity from public institutions on what materials schools and parents should buy for the transition.

This is counterproductive because it keeps both parents and learners in the dark as to what books they should look for before schools open. The results, as always, will be that come January, there will be a mad rush in bookshops for books that should already be in stock.

It is also important to note that just this week, publishers came out with guns blazing, lamenting about an increase in the piracy of books, which is denying them legitimate business as well as costing the Kenya Revenue Authority over Sh2 billion annually in lost tax revenue.

This is a serious problem at several levels. First, there is a risk of books with errors or unapproved material finding their way into the school system, exposing children to moral and intellectual risks.

There is also the reputation risk that legitimate companies face when pirates use recognised brands to inject unapproved books in the market. And there is the risk of poor quality packaging, which means that the books that are likely to be presented to parents and learners are substandard in terms of printing and binding quality.

And here is a challenge that investigative arms of government ought to take up with utmost seriousness. There are public officials, as well as workers and managers in the private sector, who have access to the materials that publishers submit to KICD for approval.

There is a risk that some rogue elements in these institutions, working in cahoots with unscrupulous printers and booksellers, have been colluding to print such material irregularly and illegally. Such malpractices ought to be nipped in the bud to ensure that learners are exposed only to the legitimate and authorised learning materials.

The education sector is far too critical to be allowed to be infiltrated by rogue players only interested in profits at the expense of knowledge. That is why there is a need for tighter controls of the school books market.

It is, therefore, critical for organisations like the Kenya Publishers Association to collaborate with relevant government agencies to ensure that malpractices in the sector are checked. This is the only way of ensuring that children are exposed to the right reading and learning materials and are shielded from harmful content.

In the past, attempts to deal with book pirates have ended up in smoke because they are either politically connected, thus enjoying official protection, or have resorted to violence against whistleblowers.

The current administration ought to, therefore, demonstrate willingness to crack down on the piracy cartels and protect legitimate businesses, especially given that piracy denies the government much needed revenue in terms of taxes. As such, the government has a direct stake in fighting piracy.

But any discussion about piracy must also bring on board the neglected writers and illustrators, without whose original input there would be no book business to talk about in the first place.

The book industry in Kenya generates between Sh10 billion and Sh15 billion annually, yet writers have little to show for it. It is not acceptable, for instance, that whereas the taxman earns 16 percent on the cover price of every book, an author earns only 10 percent. Sadly, some publishers have whittled this down to a paltry five percent.

So, all this talk about fighting piracy, while killing creativity on the other hand, amounts to what we in Kenya like to call “hot air”.

— The writer is the Editor-in-Chief of The Nairobi Law Monthly and the Nairobi Business Monthly; Mbugua@nairobilawmonthly