Great variations were found in textbook expenditures of the same grade among different schools.
The Consumer Council annual survey on textbook expenditures has raised the issue amidst rising textbook prices and expenditures this year.
The survey sought to compare the highest and the lowest in textbook expenditures for students of the same grade in different schools.
Substantial variations were found in the primary sector with the difference between the highest and the lowest nearly doubled or in monetary terms about $1,000.
For example, the biggest discrepancy was found in the grade Primary Six with the highest at $2,312 and the lowest at $1,171, a difference of $1,141.
It was found that in the case of the former, the booklist includes, apart from textbooks, a total of 16 supplementary exercises or mock exam question sets, making up nearly half (43%) of the expenditure.
Schools are therefore advised to consider the necessity of supplementary materials, the likelihood of using them during the school term, and the capability of the pupils to cope with such vast amount of supplementary exercises.
In the secondary sector, a more glaring example was found in the grade Form One with textbook expenditures varying from a high of $2,921 to a low of $1,062, a difference of 180% or $1,859.
It was found that in the case of the highest expenditure the booklist includes such tool books as English Dictionary and World Atlas amounting to some $300.
The Council suggested that the purchase of such tool books should be made "optional" to allow freedom for the students to decide the need to buy.
In the case of the lowest expenditure, this was made possible by materials produced by schools in-house in an effort to reduce the burden of students in textbook expenditure.
According to the survey, the average textbook expenditures for primary and secondary schools are $1,758 and $1,873 respectively.
Compared to last year, the expenditures have increased by 3.7% for the primary sector and 2.7% for the secondary sector.
The Consumer Council reserves all its right (including copyright) in respect of CHOICE Magazine and Online CHOICE ( https://echoice.consumer.org.hk/ ).