TEXTBOOK RENTAL SCHEMES

A promising alternative generates access to education and publishing development in cash-strapped economies.

It has become far too common in wealthy and impoverished countries alike. The new school year begins with enthusiastic children eager to learn and teachers determined to make a difference. Soon after the first lesson, however, reddened faces and quickly averted eyes in the classroom signal to the teacher that some children do not have the textbooks necessary to learn the course material. Their parents cannot afford the growing cost of education, and the government has no funds to subsidize impoverished pupils. Embarrassed, these children begin to fall behind in the course and perhaps lose confidence in their ability to succeed in other subjects.

If the parents cannot pay for textbooks used in compulsory subjects, who can? Governments previously tackled this dilemma by providing the course books to poor children either free or through a quasi-rental scheme. Even with international assistance, this option proved financially unbearable when the countries faced economic crisis or political transition. Another approach encouraged parents to purchase books on the open market, and take a risk that prices would be stable from one week to the next.

Over the past 20 years, textbook rental schemes have been considered in various forms as a means to reduce the costs of compulsory education. Only recently have these strategies shown promise in bridging the divide between those who have the resources for quality education, and those who do not.

The idea is simple. A pool of money finances the production of books to cover the needs of a certain number of pupils in a given subject. Schools rent the books to parents, who return the textbooks at the end of one year. Penalties apply to those who fail to return the books in good condition. Once the rental fee collections have covered the cost of the original books, usually four years later, subsequent profits are used to purchase new editions. Theoretically, the revolving scheme sustains itself without an infusion of additional funds.

Beyond the education-enhancing advantages of the scheme, parents like the affordability of renting what is cheaper than buying outright. Overall standards in textbooks tend to rise following a consortium of input. The idea potentially broadens access to economically and socially-disadvantaged children in countries where girls and minorities may receive substandard education. As a boost to the industry, the scheme offers a guaranteed market to publishers and printers, and effectively introduces fair competition in the trade. Donor agencies also applaud the potential sustainability of the revolving scheme.

It is in the implementation stages that the project may find its most vocal detractors. The pinnacle concern is an issue of control over money and its administration. For this reason, any textbook rental design requires a strong commitment from the central government to secure the funds to start the project and the political will to delegate responsibility once confidence grows in the ability of participants to carry out operations at a local level.

The overall management structure generally begins with a sponsoring agency, such as the World Bank, which loans funds--under certain conditions--to the Ministry of Education. Together, the two bodies work together to appoint a Project Implementation Unit (PIU) within the ministry to assume responsibility for the project. The three representatives further develop the design of the scheme and its operational structure. The ministry may choose to manage the project centrally, regionally or locally--depending on the political climate and banking infrastructure. Generally speaking, the donor aid stimulates the production of the first set of textbooks, with the rental collections replenishing supplies ideally at the end of the rental cycle.

In 1999 the Center for Publishing Development of the Open Society Institute in Budapest brought together representatives from five countries that either operated or were considering textbook rental schemes. Together with the World Bank consultants who participated in individual project designs, the representatives pinpointed a number of conditions that proved a prerequisite to the success of any design.

Chris Connolly-Smith, a World Bank financial consultant, notes that the government's commitment to education must have no immediate economic benefit if political will is to sustain the life of the project. Equally as vital is a system of tight controls built into a detailed design, one that holds money responsibly outside of government influence. An underdeveloped publishing infrastructure means that participants must take into account the available domestic resources of local paper pulp, paper making and printing facilities to avoid the higher cost of imports. Essential institutional elements in developing an appropriate scheme are a stable curriculum approved by the Ministry of Education, a defined number of textbooks per grade and a specified teaching approach. Additionally, there must be some thought given to the editorial process to determine whether it is acceptable for children to write in textbooks, for example.

What may be an appropriate rental scheme design may prove irrelevant in another country. The process is an individual one, although the experience of past efforts illustrate an astonishing amount of common concerns across cultural boundaries. The Armenian model allows a solid example of how a scheme can evolve from central planning to create ’ownership’ at a local level.

The Armenian experience underscores the critical need for planning and the vital role of cooperation within the community. The Ministry of Education decided to procure textbooks through national or competitive tenders, then delivered the books directly to the schools to be stored in the library as school property. Children in all 10 grades of basic compulsory education could rent the texts for one year. Discussions on design of the project involved head teachers, school teachers and parents from 1,000 of the 1,400 state schools, along with other ministries, publishers and printers. This followed an intensive media campaign and publication of an informational booklet detailing the various components of the scheme. Organizers considered the scheme to be "well-understood, accepted and would be supported by the population" upon the full-scale launch in 1998. Administration of the project was given to local schools after a pilot project indicated the community was ready for the challenge.

A separate, non-governmental entity was established to manage the money to overcome the fact that schools were not considered legal entities, and therefore, were unable to hold accounts. The governing board comprised 10 regional school principles, acting on behalf of the communities, two representatives from the Ministry of Education and another three from the Ministry of Finance. The Textbook Revolving Fund (TRF), registered in 1997 as an NGO with the Ministry of Justice, took control over the money away from the Ministry of Education.

The TRF opened one local currency account and one 'hard currency' account in an American bank subsidiary on the grounds that the stability of the American currency and its banking practice may protect the rental collections from inflation, devaluation and domestic economic crisis. Within each main account, interest-earning sub-accounts were opened in the name of each school. Rental fees were fixed at 25 per cent of original costs—calculated by various economic factors that may occur over four years. Penalties were assigned to those who defaulted on the payments. Once the schools collected the rental fees, only the school principles and the school account had access to the accounts. To overcome hidden administrative, administrators were convinced that the responsibilities fell within their regular duties.

With a 15 million USD World Bank start up fund, Armenia achieved a rental scheme that reduced costs to parents and supplied textbooks to all children. Organizers created a publishing industry where none previously existed. Highly ideological Soviet-era content was replaced in favor of humanities and nationally-oriented content. The local production of books further developed a nascent printing and publishing industry. It is a promising beginning. Armenia may well be on its way to labeling the project a success if the rental fees replenish supplies at the end of the four year cycle in 2002.

Project designs--whether centralized or decentralized--raise questions that every potential stakeholder must consider carefully before attempting a scheme. The more successful enveadours tend to encourage input from school officials, teachers and parents, printing and publishing industry representatives. An extensive public education campaign leads to overall awareness of the goals and objectives of the scheme among the community, which helps to sustain enthusiasm throughout the life of the project. Countries who chose a centralized model of financial management underscored the need for detailed record-keeping at all levels of the operation to avoid misappropriation of funds. A transparent paper trail allowed participants to monitor and evaluate progress at each stage.

The financial management of the funds largely determines whether the moneys are enough to cover replacement copies at the end of the rental cycle. Additional expenses not covered by the donor funds must be absorbed into the national budget. Unanticipated administrative costs may also sap money from the purchasing power of the scheme. It becomes vital for the financial well being of the project to include a competent accountant and money manager who can formulate the right strategy to address questions from the collection process to currency devaluation, inflation, political and/or economic instability. The fee itself is cause for debate. A rental fee that is too high may prove unaffordable for those for which the scheme was intended, yet a lower rate may not collect enough funds to pay for replacement copies. Governments must also determine to what extent are textbooks subsidized for the poorest of impoverished students.

Textbook rental schemes stand to offer a comprehensive solution to some of the more pressing issues in education reform. The design of each scheme is the result of careful contemplation within government and among the community before any country embarks on this path. To assist in the decision-making process, the Center for Publishing Development has published materials online that provide readers with detailed analyses of the design and operation of textbook rental schemes in Armenia, Barbados, the Gambia, Georgia, Lesotho and Moldova. The material is available in both English and Russian at http://www.osi.hu/cpd/policyresources/index_trs.html.

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