Given the government’s stance on pirated textbooks as revealed by Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr Roger Luncheon, we asked the man and woman in the street for their views on the issue. Their responses follow:
Damien Lewis – self employed: ‘I would love to see the government supply our nation’s children with original textbooks but for whatever reason that is not being done. Over the past ten years, I have been hearing repeated calls for copyright laws; their impact on the nation is still being discussed. I, however, have no beef with the government buying photocopied textbooks if this unpopular move leads to the improvement of our nation’s education system. I fully support it.’
Patrick McAndrew: ‘Textbooks represent the intellectual property of individuals who would have done significant research. When those textbooks are copyrighted, they become the legal property of both the author and publishers. Therefore, if a government decides to photocopy copyrighted material that is not published by the legal publisher, it is in violation of the copyrighting framework established to govern intellectual property. In short, they shouldn’t do this.’
Shahab Alli – self employed: ‘I believe the government should invest in original textbooks for our
children. Huge sums of money are being put into various projects and in my opinion, this is more than worthy of an investment. We are talking about our children’s future. There are reports that the government did not seek permission from the publication company to photocopy these books so it is therefore illegal. What message are they sending to the ordinary citizen of this country and the image that is being portrayed internationally?’
Addison Ross – private sector employee: ‘Everyone has blasted the government without looking at the situation in total. If they can get more books if it is photocopied then it serves more of our children. We are a hypocritical people we blast government yet we go to the very stores and fill the bags of our kids. Right is right and wrong is wrong. I support the government’s decision because we have no copyright laws; until then make use of what is available. Penny saved is a penny earned.’
Alexandra Ramos – miner:‘No, it is wrong of government to openly endorse piracy. What morals are we teaching our children? They never said if they approached the opposition for the respective budgetary allocation and was turned down. But that is the PPP/C administration: do whatever they want whenever they want and don’t give a darn what no one else says. The authors and publishers should sue them and make them a living example.’
Alan Smith- taxi driver: ‘I don’t know is wuh wrong with these boys. They have no shame, none. When Jagdeo was in power was the same thing: total disrespect of people property. It hard on people to write, make a CD and them things and then they just feel that they could take it? Nah! Not right at all. Look at Jamaica you think you would hear their government saying burn their artists’ music and resell because it cheap? No. The PPP/C don’t care they just don’t.’
Brittany Ferber – hairdresser: ‘As far as I am concerned it is illegal and they should not do it at that level. You understand the poor man and woman can’t afford it but government has access to all the taxpayers’ money. They can pay for the real things. I have a problem with those books because they are all in black and white and sometimes the children need to see the colours on diagrams and charts. They should do the right thing and buy the original books.’
Mavis Adams – pensioner: ‘I don’t know what to say about this government. Every day you open the paper is something new. I can’t say that I agree with them for buying the pirated books but on the other hand, at least the children are going to have learning material to assist them in class. Most parents buying the photocopy books too. The main thing is that the children getting what they need.’
Amy Corlette – housewife: ‘I have children and personally I buy the photocopy books. It’s affordable and a lot of times you don’t find the original books. At the same time, I don’t think the government should do the same thing as the regular man. This is illegal and I can’t imagine what the publishers would think of this country.’
Rebecca Rodrigues – student:‘I don’t agree with the move by the government to purchase photocopied textbooks. These materials are definitely necessary in schools and it is good that they are looking to provide them. However, I’m a firm believer that if something is going to be done, it should be done the right way. Why make a decision to do something like this, fully aware of the negativity that surrounds it? I think they should retract and purchase original books.’
