The Challenges and Prospects of Textbook Acquisition in PHEIs: The Views of College Administrators

Abstract

Textbooks remain an important element of knowledge creation and ownership. That is why the book industry is regarded as the bedrock in the promotion of literacy and education, and the book itself central to education and development (Darko - Ampem 2000). Though the importance of books for education and development is well-established, the situation of textbook acquisition in developing countries is fraught with problems. This small research was designed to investigate the views of college principals and library heads of Ethiopian PHEIs with regard to the problems related to textbook acquisition. The study was made on 34 private colleges both in the capital and in the Administrative Regions. The findings indicate that currently PHEIs have a limited resource of books. The acquisition process is highly demanding and at times frustrating. Books are expensive; and in some cases unavailable on the local market. Acquiring books from abroad has not been an easy matter for PHEIs. As the demand for textbooks will undoubtedly rise in the future with the expansion of both public and private HEIs, it is imperative that the country develops a national book policy that governs the development, printing and dissemination of books. Moreover, the mechanisms for encouraging and supporting the growth of local publishing industry should be sought. The needed support for private higher education institutions in assisting their efforts of acquiring books both locally and from abroad should be rendered. In addition to allocating a significant portion of their income to the acquisition of books, PHEIs should also create resource sharing mechanisms among themselves and/or public institutions of higher learning in order to share the existing meagre resources, experiences and expertise in the area.