UVAS book fair: Textbooks cost too much for vet students

VC says books will be stocked in library so all students can get access.

LAHORE:

A two-day book fair opened at the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS) on Wednesday, but most students complained that high prices put textbooks out of their reach.

More than 30 publishers set up stalls in the university’s main conference hall offering medical books. However, most of them were priced in the thousands of rupees, too much for most students.

“An undergraduate student like me cannot afford these books,” said Haris Aziz, a veterinary student.

They were also too expensive for Naqibur Reham, another veterinary student. “Veterinary books are very hard to find and the ones available are priced in the thousands of rupees,” he said. “I think I will head to the library afterwards and get the ones I want copied.”

UVAS Vice Chancellor Muhammad Nawaz, speaking on the opening of the book fair, said faculty members had suggested that the university buy books on surgery, medicine, genetics and vaccines for the library so they could be accessed by all students.

He said cheaper Indian reprints of textbooks were also available at the fair, “but students should avoid pirated editions as they eventually result in higher prices for books, or they result in the elimination of valuable books and publications.” The publishers at the book fair said their taxes should be cut. “These are advanced tax-paid books. The tax adds significantly to the price,” said Khalid Mehmood, sales manager for the Pakistan Book Corporation.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 2^nd, 2011.