State printer ends monopoly on school text books<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Perum Balai Pustaka, the government-owned
\npublishing and printing agency, is ending its monopoly in the
\nprinting and distribution of text books.<\/p>\n
Balai Pustaka Director Suwardi told reporters yesterday that
\nthe move was taken to help end the acute shortage of text books,
\nin recognition of the fact that his company can only supply 25
\npercent of the total need.<\/p>\n
Besides its limited capacity -- Balai Pustaka can only print
\n200,000 volumes for every title -- the government agency also has
\nproblems in distributing the books to the more remote areas.<\/p>\n
The step is seen as necessary to secure the success of the new
\nnine-year compulsory education scheme beginning in July, covering
\nsix years of primary school and three years of intermediate
\nschool.<\/p>\n
Balai Pustaka will involve producers on the provincial level
\nby licensing them to produce the government texts, and will
\nreceive a 15 percent commission for every book printed and sold.<\/p>\n
The authors get five percent in royalty payment.<\/p>\n
He said the government will be looking for more than one
\nprinting house in each province for more effective distribution.
\nApplications have already started to come in but the government
\nhas not heard from printers in South Sumatra, West Sumatra, East
\nKalimantan, South Kalimantan or Central Sulawesi.<\/p>\n
To begin with, some 41 titles used by elementary and
\nintermediate schools are now being offered to private printers.<\/p>\n
The government agency will also fix the prices of all the
\nbooks, Suwardi said. \"The books will also carry the name and
\nsymbol of the Ministry of Education and Culture,\" he added.<\/p>\n
The prices are controlled by the government to keep them
\naffordable for students, he said.<\/p>\n
He added that all school textbooks will be printed using
\npapers supplied by PT Aspex, a state-owned paper producer, rather
\nthan the HVS 60 paper, whose price has risen by 65 percent in the
\nlast six months.<\/p>\n
Balai Pustaka has a monopoly in publishing all the main
\ntextbooks used at primary and intermediate schools because they
\nare written by commission of the government.<\/p>\n
Private publishing houses however have provided many of the
\nsupplementary books used at schools.<\/p>\n
Balai Pustaka said there will be new books introduced this
\nyear to conform with the new school curriculums. The agency has
\nprepared 18 titles to begin with, with more to come. (01)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/state-printer-ends-monopoly-on-school-text-books-1447899208",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}