Issue of Buying Notes!

It has been complained by TPJCians that system of buying notes in the JC's are rather expensive and disorganized. Said by Sylvester Goh of 08S05, people with low pocket money like his could not afford to spend so much per week. Although this system has been up and running for over years, not many has raised this issue till now. The notes which the school / photocopying shop sells ranges over a price of as little as a few cents to as much as ten dollars a copy. Thus, if TPJCians with low allowances, like Sylvester, were to have an expenditure of over five dollars on a day on notes , they wouldn't have much money left to spend on other daily necessities such as food, transport etc.

Why bother to have the photocopying system where we could download them from Learning Management System / Intergrated Visual Learning Environment ( LMS / IVLE )? Well, this questioned has too been raised by other TPJCians. TPJCians have to get their lecture notes and tutorials from both the photocopying shop and the LMS. TPJCians complained that it is rather disorganised and would want to have a centralized place where they could just take their notes. However, not all students could get things from LMS as they do not have an internet connection or a printer. Thus, they have to get their notes from the photocopying shop. This would cater to students who don't have the benefits of printing notes or accessing the internet.

A handful of TPJCians have suggested to buy Tablet PCs and use them during lectures and tutorials. As told by Janice Chong of 08S02, the usage of Tablet PCs among all TPJCians would be very systematic. TPJCians would use the PC for lectures, tutorials and projects. There would not be any more hassle in finding lecture notes in your bag. Thus, this handful of TPJCians thought that the PC would solved all problems. However, people with low allowances who couldn't afford notes, how would they possibly afford a Tablet PC? TPJCians would also have more excuses for not bringing their PCs to class as well. Furthermore, we have to bring this PCs before an examination or test to study and won't be as handy as a few sheets of paper. Hence, this idea would not be feasible at this point in time.

In conclusion, there's nothing much we can do at this point in time about the issue of buying notes. Pupils of low allowances are urged to ask for more allowances to buy notes, and their parents should be understanding enough to give more. A centralized system of collecting notes would thus be unfeasible as it would not cater to all TPJCian students and it would make it easier for students to get it where they want. Lastly, the system of the Tablet PC being implemented maybe unfeasible but in years to come, as technology advances, there wouldn't be doubt that pupils will use PCs in classes.

- Done by,
Freelance Writer
Julius D. Roberts 08S05