A student hands over his used books to a school official in Jubail during a drive to preserve textbooks.

Several elementary schools at the Royal Commission of Jubail (RCJ) recently launched a campaign urging students to take care of their textbooks.

The drive aims to raise awareness about the importance of maintaining textbooks as a religious and ethical obligation in recognition and appreciation of the educational community and the government, which printed the books.

Sites dedicated for recycling used textbooks saw a rush of students donating their used books in the wake of the campaign.

Student interactivity increased further when giveaways were distributed during the drive.
The parents of the students also appreciated the idea behind the campaign, especially in an age where textbooks have become less important and less sacred.

The campaign is part of the RCJ’s mission to warn students against disposing of books, many of which contain verses from the Qur’an and sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).

The RCJ also recently allocate containers for books and academic papers to preserve educational material during exam periods. The containers are unloaded and the textbooks collected daily to undergo the recycling process.

“This reflects the RCJ’s keenness to prevent the destruction of textbooks at the end of the academic year,” said Hammad Al-Subahi, director of the hygiene department.