Parents need help over costs of textbooks, says watchdog

The Consumer Council yesterday called on schools and the Education Bureau to consider helping parents with the rising costs of primary and secondary school textbooks.

One solution, the watchdog said, was for schools to purchase textbooks and pass them along from one group of students to the next.

'This is environmentally friendly, it can also ensure students will get the right edition,' said Ambrose Ho, chairman of the group's publicity and community relations committee. 'Students will learn to value property which would be commonly shared, [they will] learn to recycle and learn to treasure precious resources.'

The council has already put its suggestion to the bureau, which is 'considering various options', Mr Ho said.

A bureau spokesman said it was 'in the process of setting up a working group to look into the rise of textbook prices and use of e-textbooks'.

The council's annual survey on textbook spending found costs have increased over the past year. 'Based on data from 53 primary and 45 secondary schools, the council has found the average textbook expenditure was HK$2,153 for primary and HK$1,947 for secondary,' Mr Ho said.

'This year's expenditures have shown an increase of 5.9 per cent for the primary sector and 6 per cent for the secondary sector compared with last year's expenditures of the same sampled schools.'

Mr Ho said some schools invited bookstores to hold sales on their premises and parents were offered discounts if they bought a complete set of textbooks. But there were drawbacks - other bookstores may decide not to stock the books and parents may not easily find places to buy used textbooks, he added.

There was, however, 'a welcome trend', Mr Ho said. 'More schools now are organising their own ... second-hand sales and encourage second-hand donations.'

The bureau spokesman said schools could decide whether to invite bookstores into their facilities but 'before making a decision, schools should solicit support from parent-teacher associations, and should take into account the pros and cons'.

'Schools should also keep parents and students well informed of details of such an arrangement, and let them know they have every right not to purchase textbooks in schools,' the spokesman said.

'With regard to the suggestion of schools purchasing textbooks, the bureau notices some schools are working this way and hopes more schools would consider following suit.'

Discussion question: Do you think the prices of textbooks are not reasonable? Are the methods suggested in this article helpful in easing parents' financial burden?

Text P for panic

Amid the global storm, a soaking for the biggest Chinese bank in Hong Kong

IN THE West it is not uncommon these days to hear rumours flying around financial markets about troubled banks. But in Hong Kong on September 24th the rumours were disseminated by text messages, and they were not directed at shareholders. They were received by depositors at the Bank of East Asia, Hong Kong’s largest locally owned lender. As the day wore on, people lined the pavements outside the bank branches, quietly determined to withdraw their cash. “No worry, it is our culture,” said one man, explaining the calm. He had been sent by his boss to transfer the money to HSBC, Hong Kong’s historic financial rock.

The 90-year-old Bank of East Asia blamed “malicious rumours” for the incident and said they were false. The text messages had referred to the bank’s losses through exposure to American International Group (AIG), the global insurance giant that was in effect taken over by the American government on September 16th, and Lehman Brothers, the Wall Street bank that collapsed a day earlier. To allay fears, the bank disclosed that it had exposure to AIG and Lehman of HK$473m ($61m), just under 1% of regulatory capital. It extended its opening hours, dispatched guards to ensure queues were orderly and distributed leaflets noting that it was heavily capitalised and liquid, a position endorsed by the local monetary authority.

Hong Kong has experienced bank runs before, most recently in 1997 during the Asian financial crisis. Deposit insurance used to be non-existent and it remains small, covering only the first HK$100,000. But banks in the city are thought to be well capitalised and fairly insulated from the global credit crunch. They are in better shape than others in the region, such as Australian banks, which have seen interbank funding costs soar, leading the Federal Reserve to open a dollar swap line this week with the Reserve Bank of Australia.

The Bank of East Asia is a special case in Hong Kong, however. In February its well-connected boss, David Li, settled American insider-trading charges. More recently, a “rogue trader” cost the bank HK$93m. On September 19th Moody’s, a rating agency, shifted its outlook on the bank’s debt to negative (although it is still investment grade).

In response to the run, the Hong Kong authorities voiced their support for the bank, and a tycoon bought shares. They rose on September 25th as normality returned. But banks everywhere should pay attention. As storms batter global finance, depositors’ fingers are on the panic button. And that button may now be on their mobile phones.

Discussion question:

Hong Kong people are getting more accustomed to sending SMSs and emails to their friends and relatives of the so-called "inside news" ranging from typhoon forecast to financial "tips". Do you think this can create problems? If yes, what are the potential problems?