Visit any xerox tapri in Pune for a single copy and its a long wait. Usually run in a tiny area with barely enough space to hold the machines they do roaring business all day long and often till late into the night. And what is it that the machines are spitting out furiously? Endless copies of notebooks (notes religiously made by one sincere student that will cater to the entire class) and text books. While so much is written about plagiarism and piracy, one finds students prefer to photo copy a book often costing upwards of 1K instead of buying it. At 30 paise a page the conscience easily loses this battle.
Their justification.. whats the point in spending so much for one book for one term which is of no use later? With newer editions coming out, there are no takers for old ones.
Does it justify copying text books? What is the way out?
Most shops on Pune's ABC (Appa Balwant Chowk- the ultimate destination for text books for all disciplines), offer fresh books on 'library' basis, meaning the student buys the book at full cost and uses it for a year. He can return it before the specified date for a refund of a percentage of the cost (40-60%). Returning is optional but one has to choose that when making the initial purchase and get the requisite stamp and preserve the receipt.
Copy Cats may seem 'cool' but surely but surely preparing ones own notes is a better alternative? I must check with my younger friends ..
6 comments:
Nice observation, Archana. It is on such 'copying' that our IT professionals, doctors etc are relying on to take our nation 'forward'..
Yes Vinod. Knowledge has to be disseminated. But then, there are people who make a living from writing and publishing books- I am not even referring to huge profits!
This post was inspired by an half an hour wait for one copy as the zerox vendor was busy completing 'books' as exams are round the corner!
It is bad enough as it is copying someone elses notes but when text books are copied - that is a copyright violation! It starts with a few pages of being too lazy to make notes from to 'ok lets get the whole thing copied'!
Another thing about this mindless zeroxing is the number of trees that are paying the price- or are we?
Well said!
If we reuse paper we can make a tiny effort towards conserving trees. Old wrapping paper, blank sides of print outs etc that are easily at hand at home can be reused.
Very nice blog, though I wish more of our students were sincere
You are right Sneha. Thanks for visiting!
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