Minister Baksh and the textbook saga

Aug 26, 2010 Letters

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Dear Editor,
The Minister of Education, Mr Shaik Baksh has strenuously denied any knowledge of massive copyright infringement of official textbooks and the issuing of contract by the Ministry of Education to a known textbook pirate to supply illegally copied textbooks to the nation’s school children.
This information was vividly brought to the attention of the public by an article in Kaieteur News, dated 2010-08-08 on page 15, captioned, “Urgent need to address copyright infringement by local bookseller”.
In the said article the Minister reported, “I am not aware of any such activity. He was referring to the piracy of official textbooks which was brought to his attention.
Mr. Baksh further elaborated thus, “I will have to investigate this…I do know that we are in receipt of textbooks from a Caribbean distributor, but I have to find out about this allegation”.
With respect to his lack of knowledge of the exponential growth of textbook piracy, I would like to bring to the attention of the Minister that he knew of this problem long before now.
On the 18 June 2007, the President of The Publishers Association of UK, Mr. Simon Bell wrote to the local British High Commission requesting it to represent its interest to the Government of Guyana of its serious concern against textbooks piracy in Guyana.
The then British High Commissioner, Mr Fraser Wheeler, wrote to the Minister of Education, Mr Shaik Baksh on 13 August 2007, and copied the letter to three other senior government functionaries. For the benefit of readers, I shall quote in full the contents of Mr. Wheeler’s letter to Mr. Baksh.
“Thank you for your letter of 18 June about the piracy problem on Guyana. In response I wrote to the Minister of Education Shaik Baksh (copied to the Minister of finance: Minister of Foreign Trade, and Head of the Presidential Secretariat) on 25 July to register concern, and ask for a meeting to discuss it.
I met the Minister on 9 August: he was aware of the issue (not least because Lloyd Austin, a local book shop owner, is currently mounting a public relations campaign against piracy in the local newspapers), and he acknowledged that the problem merited a rapid response.
He undertook to raise it in the Education Sub-Committee of the Cabinet shortly with a view to taking action. We will follow this up within a month, and will report to you any developments”.
There are several issues raised in this letter. I shall highlight only two. Firstly Mr. Baksh was in dialogue with the British High Commissioner on the serious issue of textbook piracy and he (Mr. Baksh) “acknowledged that the problem merited a rapid response”.
Secondly, Mr. Baksh agreed to raise the issue of textbook piracy in the Education Sub-Committee of Cabinet.
Here we have gridlock proof that since August 2007, Mr. Baksh was aware of the textbook piracy and he agreed to do something about it. Three years later, in August 2010, the same Minister of Education Mr. Baksh is now pleading ignorance of the textbook piracy issue when the problem has multiplied by several factors. Come on Mr. Baksh let us get to the gist of the problem to swiftly effect a solution to protect copyright infringement.
By the way Mr. Baksh what has happened to the deliberation on piracy issue at the Education Sub-Committee of Cabinet? In your investigation of textbook piracy, please, let us know of the report of the Education Sub-Committee of Cabinet.
There is the much more serious issue of the Ministry of Education now purchasing pirated textbooks for distribution to schools. In the very article referred to above, this problem was highlighted.
The condoning of illegally via procurement of pirated textbooks by the Ministry Education has prompted the Minster of Education to call for an investigation.
In Kaieteur News of 2010-08-21, on pages 4-5, a letter writer, Mr. M. S. Hussain in his correspondence captioned, WWhere is the Ministry’s policy of Monitor Evaluate, Record and Develop,” lambasted the Ministry of Education for purchasing and distributing to schools pirated textbooks.
Probably, the Ministry of Education thought that by engaging in this clandestine activity, it would have weathered the storm and no one would have been wiser of it passing off this gross illegality on the nation’s school children at the expense of renowned publishers.
The Ministry of Education has crossed the hurdle. The publishers whose textbooks have been infringed can now take legal action not only against the textbook pirates but also the Government of Guyana through the Ministry of Education.
The Government of Guyana is very hesitant to enact modern copyright legislation which will contribute in no small measure to stamp out the nefarious scourge of textbook piracy. Copyright legislation is long overdue. It should be enacted as a matter of priority. In the meantime we await the investigation of Minister of Education.
B. Boodhoo

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