02 Feb 09 The Price of Knowledge

Tags: knowledge, university

So, my university started today accompanied with frenzied chaos as people try to sort out various stuff, like registering for the correct courses, activating student cards, etc.

Another thing that happens in the first week of class is buying exorbitantly priced textbooks. To me it is just ridiculous. About a 3rd of my course fees are spent on textbooks. We have at our university what is called WebCT. It is an online facility where you can get notes of what happened in class and engage with the lecturers and other students if they are studying the same modules.

In this age where information is readily available, ie Wikipedia, and services like WebCT exists, I just don’t get it why we still need textbooks (extremely expensive ones at that). Yes, not everyone has a computer and some students are studying on bursaries/loans. I understand that. I’m just miffed at the fact that they are charging so much for what is quickly fading out.

The price of knowledge shouldn’t be so high.

Who agrees with me?