A Look at Textbook Prices in Hong Kong

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The cost of textbooks under the new senior academic structure has risen, with some publishers nearly doubling the prices for certain subjects. The fewer subjects required to qualify for the future Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education examination, which will replace the HKCEE, meant longer lesson times per subject, which would translate into thicker textbooks, the Educational Publishers Association said.

Compulsory Form Four subjects under the new system, including Chinese, English language and mathematics, registered an average increase of 8 per cent - with prices for English-language textbooks rising 12.3 per cent.

The average prices in elective subjects such as geography (HK$401), physics (HK$510) and economics (HK$414) have also gone up. Biology textbooks will cost an average of HK$476 - an increase of 87 per cent on last year's HK$255.

The Education Bureau released the prices of books for senior secondary subjects yesterday after assessing 152 sets of textbooks submitted by publishers.

The Hong Kong dollar is worth .129025 US Dollars at this writing. Posted by Jim Zellmer at April 8, 2009 8:55 PM
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