Seven out of ten students receive some form of aid, partial or complete, for the purchase of school books for the school year that begins in a few days, according to Anele (National Association of Publishers of Books and Educational Materials). These data, at a national level, hide the different approach that the autonomous communities are adopting in the face of this phenomenon, which leads some to subsidize 100% of their students (either by financing the purchase of books or because they have set up a loan system or similar) while others, such as Asturias, forget two out of three, say the publishers.
In total, 30% of families do not receive any subsidy, forcing them to pay for these materials in full. According to Anele, this expenditure amounts to 95.54 euros per student per year (the result of dividing the total expenditure by the number of students), but this is an average that mixes those who spend nothing with those who receive no aid. , for example, which is probably not very representative, as the editors admit.
“It must be taken into account that the loan systems that exist in a good part of the communities mean that beneficiary families do not have to pay any amount directly or that they must invest a minimum amount for school books,” they argue. And those who pay pay for everyone and increase the average.
This game can be triggered, as some families have recently shown on social networks. Precisely in Asturias, the community with the lowest percentage of coverage for the acquisition of books, Raúl Martínez showed an invoice of 339.55 euros for the purchase of seven books and an exercise book for the 3rd year of ESO in a public institute, as he explained. , with several copies at more than 50 euros. “It is an armed aggression against families and it generates brutal social inequalities,” concludes this father.
On the other side of the spectrum is Laura, who takes her two children to a private school in La Rioja. There, The regional government has just introduced almost total free and unconditional education: for everyone in all classes. The school provides books to families, who must buy only those that cannot be reused (those in a foreign language) and make sure to return them in good condition at the end of the course (otherwise, they must replace them out of their own pocket). “It’s a relief – Laura concedes – because for me the January slope is in September. I spend 190 euros just on school supplies and those missing books and notebooks. Add to that a few years of uniforms, PE shoes, when basketball, karate start… It’s a fortune, September is a complicated month,” he explains.
Ceapa, the main federation of parents’ associations in public schools, believes that the system of compulsory books is anachronistic. “We understand that in the 21st century, textbooks can serve as a reference, but they should not be compulsory,” says María Capellán, president of the organization. “The outlay made is enormous for many families, and depending on the autonomous community, it can cost you zero or more than 300 euros depending on the course,” corroborates the figures denounced by Martínez.
From everything to nothing
Anele published a report this week in which it analyses the different systems of loans or aid for the purchase of books in the autonomous communities, in order to show the differences between them and to demand a sustainable and planned “common system” that gives students access to textbooks under equal conditions in all the autonomous communities while helping to facilitate business activity.
The differences between the communities range from the universal coverage practiced by regions such as Andalusia, Murcia, La Rioja or Navarra, to those that provide aid based on income level (Aragon, Asturias, Canary Islands, Castile-La Mancha, Castile and Leon, Extremadura and Galicia, where the Xunta refuses to recover the free system), through some mixed models (in Madrid or the Valencian Community the plan is universal, but the centers must unite so that families can request it, and in the case of the example of the subsidized school does not always exist; in Aragon it is also necessary to request it, as in the Balearic Islands) or for direct aid, as Catalonia does.
Thus, coverage differs greatly depending on the communities, explains Anele. Beyond those that have a universal aid system (whether through a loan, a book bank or purchase financing) for everyone, in Aragon the beneficiaries are 50%, in Asturias 31%, in the Balearic Islands 61%, in Castilla-La Mancha 30%, in Castilla y León 40%, in Catalonia the aid of 60 euros reaches 95%, in Extremadura the book bank covers 70% of students, the Madrid membership system benefits 63% and in the Valencian Community the Xarxa llibres cover everyone. Between all the autonomies, they will invest 290 million euros in aid for school textbooks.
Average family spending, Anele says, has barely changed over the years. Last year, it increased by 3.7 euros per student, citing the Federation of Editors’ Guilds. In 2013, it was 91.6 euros per student per year. It peaked in 2016 (at 106.1 euros) and then fell back to the current level of 95.5.
Get Rid of Books…and Spend More
This development responds, the publishers continue, to the price of books which, unlike novels and other non-academic formats, have a free price. According to Anele, “the average price of the copy increased by 1.89%, to 19.42 euros, below the inflation rate of 3.1% at the end of December 2023”.
This, multiplied by 39.8 million copies sold, allowed the sector to invoice 796 million euros last year. The most fruitful stage for publishers is the Primary (17 million books sold and 322 million euros invoiced).
And the situation is not necessarily improving (for families). There are communities, explains Capellán, from Ceapa, that are going backwards in their aid system. She knows the case of Castilla y León, where a book exchange bank was set up, managed by the AMPAs in the centers. “The board of directors saw that it was a good deal and instead of paying scholarships, they created a program called Releo in which you signed up, donated books and, depending on what you donated, you received,” he says. “When the board saw that the system was working very well, they changed it, called it Releo Plus and made it available for rent. If you had an income, they didn’t give you anything, it only covered books for families with low incomes. But the text banks were out of stock and only families brought new copies, and if you didn’t have income rights, they didn’t give you anything. Of course, faced with this situation, many families decided to fend for themselves, giving the books to their neighbors or selling them on Wallapop. And the book banks remained empty,” he explains.
In the Community of Madrid, there are subsidized schools that are removing books. But not exactly to save families the expense. María’s daughter – who has changed her name because she fears reprisals at her center – attends a school where, when she reaches the fifth grade, the paper disappears and is replaced by an iPad that each family must buy at the center itself. “It’s more than 400 euros,” laments this mother, and after each class they have to pay for the licenses for the virtual books. Last year, when he still had to buy books, he had to pay more than 300 euros. How much effort does it take? “It doesn’t matter,” she says, resigned, “because it’s something that has to be done. You remove other things, but the books and all the school supplies are paid for no matter what.”
In Galicia, one of the first measures taken by the current leader of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, was to repeal the free books that the bipartisan BNG-PSOE had implemented between 2005 and 2009, a measure that contradicts the Xunta’s educational policy. to everything else: this year, free university education is opened and the elimination of the cost of nursery schools remains from the Feijóo era. To compensate for the elimination of total free education, the Xunta has implemented several measures, such as direct aid for purchases or the creation of a public book bank, but it is still not enough for everyone.
