Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Fayval Williams, has assured representatives of the Book Industry Association of Jamaica (BIAJ) that the Ministry is committed to working collaboratively with them as the country moves into utilising e-books and more of the online platforms for teaching and learning.

This comes after concerns were raised by Latoya West-Blackwood, chairperson of the BIAJ, about the implication for its members as schools move to conduct more classes online.

West-Blackwood said there were concerns about copyright and downloading of material from textbooks, where there was no agreement on copying printed material in schools.

Minister Williams assured the industry that the Ministry will ensure that the necessary agreements on copyright and copying printed material in schools are put in place in the shortest possible time.

The Minister added that she understood the need to respect intellectual property rights and that the Ministry would not seek to violate those rights.