Take note if you are a junior college student in need of extra help to ace the exams.
You can go online and find former junior college students willing to pass on their school notes - but for a fee.
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» 'Students sell work that's not theirs'
Take the case of one seller who calls herself TripleAceTuition on hardwarezone.com.sg. 'Quote your price. Will sell to the highest bidder,' she said in her post.
Similarly, a quick search on the Internet for A-level notes will yield links to various websites, ranging from the forums at Singapore Press Holdings portal Stomp to a Facebook group.
The notes most in demand are for general paper, economics, geography, chemistry, physics and mathematics.
Two ring files of notes can cost $30 to $100, depending on the subject and the volume of content.
In a practice which is believed to have started in 2007, online sellers are quick to call attention to the pedigree of their notes.
'Hwa Chong Institution and Raffles Junior College notes are hot,' said a seller who wanted to be known only as Christopher.
'The response from potential buyers is almost immediate. Within one or two days, I can get four to five replies,' added the 18-year-old, who advertises on Stomp. He has just finished his A levels at Hwa Chong.
Materials on offer include lecture notes, school exam papers and worked solutions provided by teachers.
After negotiation, money is transferred to the seller's bank account before the notes are mailed, or cash is paid upon meeting in person.
But is it an infringement of copyright laws, given that the notes are the efforts of school teachers?
Checks by The Sunday Times reveal that most of the sellers seem to be unaware of, or disregard, the restrictions.
Their view is that they are no longer students of the school and do not expect any repercussions.
Also, they feel the exchange of notes is similar to getting them from friends in other JCs or buying them from the school bookshops.
Furthermore, most transactions are done through private messaging online or SMS. Hence, the identity of the seller is kept anonymous.
Under Singapore law, people who commit copyright offences can be fined up to $100,000 and jailed up to five years, or both.
However, a check with the vice-principals of Victoria Junior College and National Junior College shows that they are unaware of such ventures.
But there is at least one case of action being taken abroad to curb the practice.
In April last year, a professor from the University of Florida sued an online site, Einstein's Notes, which paid students to upload their lecture notes.
The lawyers for both sides have yet to arrive at an agreement.
This article was first published in The Straits Times.
By Debby Kwong
Tue, Dec 15, 2009
The Straits Times
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