Textbooks, in crisis again before the start of the school year

Students entering the 9th grade will start the 2026-2027 school year without printed textbooks corresponding to the new programs. In the most optimistic scenario, digital textbooks could be available at the beginning of the school year, while printed books would arrive in high schools later. The situation brings to mind a problem that has arisen in the education system before: changing school programs and preparing textbooks do not always manage to keep up with the school year calendar.

• First generation of high school students with new programs

The 2026-2027 school year begins on September 7, and for students entering the 9th grade, the start of high school comes with an important change. They are the first generation to study according to the new high school programs. However, the textbooks related to these programs will not be available in printed format at the beginning of the courses. Bogdan Cristescu, director of the National Center for Curriculum and Evaluation, told Rador in August that the new textbooks will not be physically available on September 7. In the best case, the textbooks will be accessible in digital format at the beginning of the school year, and the printed ones could reach students later, provided that the procedure is not delayed by appeals. Cristescu specified that, if the textbooks are not ready on time, there is also the option of developing methodological guides for teachers. However, the solution is a compromise, at a time when students are just beginning the first stage of a curricular reform.

• 113 textbooks, a procedure of over 94 million lei

The problem did not arise in the last days before the start of school. The acquisition procedure was launched by the Ministry of Education in April. According to the National Center for Curriculum and Evaluation, the procedure concerns 113 textbook titles for grade 9, divided into lots, with a total estimated value of 94,383,293.40 lei. The auction was launched in the Electronic Public Procurement System on April 10, and the deadline for submitting offers was June 9.

At the time of launching the procedure, the Ministry of Education provided for contracts with a duration of eight years, which would allow the use of textbooks for a longer period and reduce the need for similar procedures each year. From an administrative point of view, the procedure is complex. The projects submitted by publishing houses must be evaluated, the results must be approved, and in the case of appeals, the procedure may be extended. After completing these stages, teachers must choose the approved variants, schools must centralize the necessary, and the textbooks must be printed and distributed. For students, however, all these steps have a very simple result: on September 7, they will not have the new textbooks on their desks.

• The alarm signal came before the auction

The fact that the textbooks will not arrive at the beginning of the school year is not a total surprise for those involved in the process. In February, Cristian Greşanu, president of the Romanian Publishers' Union, warned that it was difficult to believe that the new 9th grade textbooks would be able to reach students in September. He explained at the time that, after the auction was launched, periods were needed for evaluation and for possible appeals. The calendar thus had a risk zone from the beginning. The new programs had to be transformed into textbooks, the projects had to be submitted and evaluated, and the winning textbooks had to be contracted, printed, and distributed in a relatively short period of time before the start of classes. In August, the warning turned into certainty: students would not start the year with printed textbooks.

• Digital can be a solution, but it does not solve the delay

The Ministry and representatives of the education system invoke the possibility of using digital textbooks. It is a solution that can allow teachers to work according to the new programs even if the printed copies are not yet available. For some schools, this can reduce the effects of the delay. However, the digital textbook does not change the fact that printed materials are not available when classes start. In addition, there is also the problem of effective access to technology. The permanent use of an electronic textbook presupposes the existence of appropriate devices and infrastructure, both in school and at home.

The Ministry's official platform for digital textbooks already exists and includes textbooks for several grades. For the new grade 9 textbooks, however, the approval and publication process is still ongoing. According to information published at the end of August, for the batches that will not be contested, the digital textbooks could be published by the end of September, with the printed versions to be distributed later.

• This is not the first time textbooks have been delayed

The current situation is not unique in Romanian education. In September 2023, approximately two weeks after the start of the school year, four textbooks for grades 1, 2 and 6 had not yet arrived in schools. That year, the Ministry stated that 43 new textbooks had been printed and distributed, but four titles were still behind schedule. Problems related to textbooks have also arisen in previous years, especially during periods when the education system was undergoing curricular changes. The current case is different in terms of the scale of the change: the entire 9th grade falls under the new high school programs, and the necessary is covered by a procedure that includes 113 titles.

• Curriculum reform begins before textbooks

The fundamental problem is synchronization. A curricular reform involves more than just approving school programs. For the change to work in the classroom, textbooks, teaching materials, teacher training and time to adapt to the new requirements are needed. In the case of the 9th grade, the first component is already behind the school calendar. The tender was launched in April, the offers were submitted by June, and the evaluation of the projects ended in August. During this time, the first day of classes remained fixed for September 7.

It is the difference between two calendars that should have worked together: the administrative procurement calendar and the school calendar. For the administration, the procedure continues after September 7. For students and teachers, however, school starts then.

• The cost of the delay is borne by the schools

In the absence of textbooks, teachers have to work with other resources until the books arrive in the high schools. This may mean materials prepared by the teachers, digital resources, or the use of auxiliary materials. In the case of a class that starts high school according to new programs, the problem is more complicated than in the case of a simple delay in the distribution of already existing textbooks. Teachers must build their teaching activity based on the new programs, given that the main tool intended to support them is not yet available in printed form. Cristian Greşanu showed that textbooks are approved in batches and that possible appeals may cause some titles to arrive later than others. Therefore, the moment when all textbooks will actually reach students is not necessarily identical.