New publisher Neon promises much cheaper textbooks, with schools controlling content

A new cooperative textbook publisher, Neon, will allow schools in the Netherlands to develop their own textbooks. According to the company, this will give schools more control over the content and make textbooks cheaper and more sustainable. Neon expects the first books to be ready in about two years, NOS reports.

On Wednesday, Neon posted job openings to write the textbooks, initially for the most commonly taught subjects like Dutch and mathematics. The schools can then digitally adapt the textbooks and choose whether to have them printed or use a digital format.

“Teachers can easily add their own material, for example, and rearrange chapters,” Neon director Marten Blankesteijn, also the founder of online newspaper kiosk Blendle, told the broadcaster. “We’re giving control back to education.”

Neon promises much lower costs at around €20 to €30 per student per year, compared to the around €340 per year the major publishers charge. “Unlike traditional publishers, our goal isn’t to make a profit,” Blankesteijn said.

Currently, three major publishers control almost three-quarters of the market in the Netherlands. In recent years, there has been a lot of criticism in the education sector about high costs, ill-fitting content, and millions of workbooks thrown away every year.

Schools are, therefore, eager to sign up for Neon. According to the company, 12 school communities, representing 70,000 students, are already participating. They contribute €10 per student towards the development of the books. By the end of December, Neon expects to have 50 school communities signed up, representing 500,000 students, approximately one-fifth of all primary and secondary school children.

“This will be a breakthrough,” Annet Kil of the Gooise Scholen Federatie (GSF), which has signed up to Neon, told NOS. “It will be more sustainable, cheaper, and improve the quality of education.” Kil said GSF joined Neon to be a good employer. “Teachers are regaining their professional freedom.” She added that she was “deeply jealous” that this system wasn’t in place when she was a teacher.

German teacher Vera Stijnman of the Goois Lyceum, part of the GSF, is enthusiastic about the new method. “Currently, the teaching method often doesn’t align with what we want, and the assignments are either far too difficult or too easy. We often have to bend over backward with additional copies to integrate our own teaching materials into the lessons,” she said. With Neon, “you can easily incorporate your own material. It’s much more flexible, and I’m really looking forward to it.”

Nike Bootsma of the Gelderland school community Quadraam also plans to sign up soon. “There is a lot of enthusiasm among school boards,” he said. “This formula works. It could really take off and change a lot.”

MEVW, the trade association for schoolbook publishers, thinks Neon’s promises are too good to be true. “It would be fantastic if it were possible, but I really don’t see how you can develop high-quality learning materials for such a low price per student and keep them constantly up-to-date,” chairperson Jorien Castelein told NOS. Still, she called it a “great and ambitious alternative” that could “give a boost to the market.”