‘The guide book business will collapse'

Open-book exam system will also ruin the tuition classes industry

A large number of book sellers in the city believe the Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board's (GSHSEB's) decision to introduce open-book exam system will badly affect the market of digests and reference books.

The sources associated with the market of school books said that every year around 26,69,000 state students studying in classes VIII, IX, and X spend around Rs117 crore for buying digests and reference books.

School teacher Priyesh Vyas said the board's decision can result in a reduction of around 50% in the sale of school digests and reference books. Vyas said the impact of the decision will not be confined to sale of digests only but will severely affect the Rs200crore- business of tuition classes. He said, "All of us appreciate the board's decision, but also realise that the teachers of schools and tuition classes will have to make drastic change in the way they teach their students."

Sources said a majority of school teachers were indirectly involved in the business of tuition classes.  Welcoming the board's decision, Nitish Patel, a stationer, said, "For many years, few companies have dominated the market of digests for school students."
He said the market for digests of secondary classes was in the region of Rs50 crore in the city alone.

Another stationer Vijay Patel said, "I don't think there will be remarkable reduction in the sale of help books. Soon, there will be another form of material available in the market to help students prepare for open-book exams."