Text Books Provision: Unconventional Swaps Intensify

U nlike conventional bookshops that mainly sell new text book editions, these establish­ ments allow customers to buy, sell, and exchange both new and second- handed editions at Subsidied Cost. According to a bookshop owner in Yaounde, Jean Claude Pehuie, the ex­ change system is based on the condition and value of the book a customer brings. For primary school pupils, a second-handed textbook can be swapped for another book of similar value for FCFA 500, while those seeking new textbooks have to pay the difference after their old book has been evaluated. For ins­ tance, “If your book is FCFA 700, or FCFA 1,000, and the new one is FCFA 1,500, you pay the difference of FCFA 500,” the bookseller explained. The same principle applies to secon­ dary school textbooks, although the exchange is often made between books of similar value. The system also gives used textbooks a second life, allowing books from one student to be passed on to another instead of being discarded. However, the bookseller says pre­ sentation also matters ...