Secondary schools reluctant to introduce book rental schemes

Changes to the curriculum and increasing availability of ebooks are making secondary schools reluctant to start book rental schemes.

Every school is given a book grant based on pupil numbers each year, and Education Minister Ruairi Quinn is pushing schools to use the funds to run rental schemes that can significantly reduce the costs of textbooks for families.

However, a recent report from his school inspectors suggested that, while three quarters of primary schools have such schemes in place, as few as one third of schools in the religious-run secondary sector have a book rental system.