Row erupts over school books

A ROW erupted yesterday between Fine Gael and two of the country’s biggest book publishers over the “short shelf-life” of school books.

The party’s education spokesman, Brian Hayes, claimed yesterday that two main education publishers — Gill & Macmillan and Folens — released 105 new and revised editions this year.

Mr Hayes said that every year parents are being forced to fork out for “new” and revised editions of school books when often, existing books do not need to be replaced.

Mr Hayes said the Competition Authority should conduct a study into the school book publishing sector.

“This is a money-making racket and parents are being ripped off,” Mr Hayes said yesterday.

Mr Hayes said nobody could quibble with school books being updated but there were serious questions over the number of books being released that parent are forced to buy.

But Gill & Macmillan education manager, Anthony Murray, disputed the TD’s claims that it has released 65 new and revised editions.

Mr Murray said they had released just 10 new publications — six text books and four “revision” books.

“In 2008 we produced six brand-new text books and four revision titles and there is just one revised edition,” he said.

“It is not in our interests to bring out new and revised books, it is in our interest to keep on reprinting them because the start-up costs involved investing in a new title are quite prohibitive.”

But Mr Hayes said he was sticking by his original claim.

“I have produced the evidence and it is on Gill & Macmillan’s website. The book publisher is claiming it has 65 new publications for primary and post-primary education and that makes books previously published by the company redundant.”

Folens has 40 new or revised titles this year according to the Fine Gael study. The company was also contacted by the Irish Examiner but did not respond.

A spokesman for the Minister of Education, Batt O’Keeffe, said textbooks had to be changed periodically to enable teachers to keep their own and their students’ work educationally stimulating and to ensure that content and methodology were kept up-to-date.

The department operates a schoolbook grant scheme. Last year €13.8m was spent across primary and second level and this year’s provision is €14.35m — €6.35m and €8m respectively.

Chief executive of the National Parents’ Council Primary, Áine Lynch, said schools should work with parents on the provision of school books.

“When schools and parents work in partnership the costs can be significantly reduced,” she said. “Publishers will not keep producing books that are not being bought.”

Spokeswoman for the NPC Post-primary, Rose Tully, believed more access to information technology would reduce the number of books pupils had to take to school.