JEDDAH, 12 June 2004 — As the academic year draws to an end, dumpsters are overflowing with school books of every description, some torn, some in mint condition, in a vivid expression of how Saudi youth feel about their education.

While some volumes bear the marks of a peculiar venom, others have merely been dumped because their owners see no reason to keep them. Raed Al-Saleem, an 11th grader, is one of them.

“I don’t have any use for the books, so why shouldn’t I throw them away?” he says. “New 11th-graders will be given a new set of books next year,” he adds, “so what’s the point of keeping them?”

Fahd Al-Sulaiman feels recycling would be impractical. “Even if I were to give my books to someone, they wouldn’t be able to use them. I’ve scribbled on them and well...there are some pages missing. Actually I’ve hardly used my books during the year,” he says.

A frustrated parent, Umm Sulaiman believes it is the system that encourages waste. “We should do what other countries do: school books are considered to be school property that the students have to return at the end of the year. And if they’ve done any damage they have to pay compensation,” she says. “It’s disgusting how our children have come to take so much for granted. But that’s what happens when we give away things for free.”

Few are surprised that the habit persists. “Why is it shocking that youth behave this way about books?” asks Abu Ziad, a senior citizen. “What do we do to promote the importance of taking care of possessions, especially books?

“They barely read them themselves, but they leave them in such a state that they’re unfit for anyone else to use. My sister’s a librarian and she says she’s got to continuously supervise students so that they don’t ruin library books.”

It is a familiar refrain, with many saying that only some tangible incentive or disincentive will change what has become an ingrained habit.

“In Riyadh there are second-hand bookstores where you can sell your books for a small price and later on buy books from,” says one university student. “I’ve studied in schools outside the Kingdom where you don’t get your end-of-year certificate if you don’t hand in the school books, and they’ve got to be in good shape as well.”

As a former school librarian, Leila Mohammad has first-hand experience of the problem. “The fact that they throw their books away like this means that they’ve not learned anything,” she says. “And though most would blame the kids for this, I blame the teachers that they’ve failed to teach students that the significance of education isn’t just the pages in the book but it’s the essence of knowledge and awareness.”

She believes it is a sign of a deeper malaise. “So sure, the students have passed the school year and moved on to the next year. But have they really learned anything? Or is it just a bundle of information that they throw away with their books at the end of another school year?”

A school principal says, “We must urge teachers to spread awareness among students. Books don’t grow on trees and trees are becoming scarce. Someone should pay for this damage. Or else what’s the point of education without awareness? It will probably all share the fate of the books — in the garbage.”