I am certain at some point in your life you have been to the local super market or filling station to purchase something and the price didn’t make sense. Well now imagine if you didn’t have a choice but to buy that item from that place every single time you need it. That would be unfair and to say the least, should be classified as unethical business practices.
Many universities in South Africa have a book store on campus, which is very convenient. And many black poor students who are beneficiaries of bursaries, NSFAS and Edu-loan receive as part of the package a book allowance that can be spent at the bookshop.
Van Schaik Book store is a name a lot of students and graduates are familiar with, different people feel indifferent about the book store, some are happy with it and others are unhappy with the store for different reasons. Personally I am not happy with the book store, after I bought a pencil for R 8.50 I couldn’t help but wonder how many students bought it. How many students don’t have a choice but to buy that obviously over priced pencil because they can only buy using their Edu-loan cards there?
The issue of an overpriced pencil is not what really makes me furious, the real issue is how many books and study materials are being sold at inflated prices? As we fight to bring the cost of studying down, the cost of books and stationary should be brought down too, especially bookstores that are serving students.
#TextBookPricesMustFall
Article By Dimo Wa Moraswi Sekele
