Every year, students are required to purchase new titles and related learning materials for the new school year, and the expenditure on textbooks can be up to several thousand dollars. The Consumer Council published the findings of its 2022/23 primary and secondary school textbook expenditure survey, revealing that, as compared with the previous school year, the overall average expenditure (including expenditure on homework, supplementary exercises and other learning materials) on primary and secondary school textbooks rose by 5.7% and 2.9% respectively. The recorded rise was also significantly higher than the inflation rate (1.7%) in the same period. The survey showed that the expenditure was subject to various factors, for example, the choice of titles, the number of homework assignments and supplementary exercises, discounts from publishers, as well as the change in learning materials for the new school year. In addition to title purchases, students may need to pay for the printing costs of the teaching materials self-developed by their own school, and for electronic devices such as tablets or laptops to support e-learning, which is another significant cost.
With the assistance of the Education Bureau (EDB), 86 primary schools and 76 secondary schools in Hong Kong were randomly selected. Invitation letters were issued to collect their textbook lists for both the new and previous school year and other relevant information, including the costs of compulsory textbooks, supplementary exercise books and school-based materials. The Council received relevant information from a total of 50 primary schools and 48 secondary schools, with a response rate of 60.5%. The Council referred to the detailed information thus obtained, including the book lists, the elective subjects available for students, and the combinations of the choice of electives to further analyse and calculate the textbook expenditure of each grade and their changes over the 2 school years.
Average Expenditure Rose Over 2.9%
Additional Printing Costs Exerted Extra Burden on Students
Among the primary schools surveyed, the average expenditure on textbooks was $3,177 in the new school year, a sharp 5.7% rise year-on-year (YoY) which was higher than the 5.3% YoY rise last year. The average textbook expenditure of each grade ranged from $2,926 to $3,369, with the YoY rise between 4.8% and 6.4%. The average expenditure of senior primary ($3,329) was 10% higher than that of junior primary ($3,025) in the new school year. When analysed by subject categories, the average expenditure for Chinese, English, Mathematics and General Studies ranged from $539 (General Studies) to $836 (English). The expenditure for the remaining subjects did not exceed $250, with Putonghua and Music being relatively higher.
The average expenditure on secondary school textbooks was $2,944 in the new school year, recording a YoY rise of 2.9%, which was lower than the YoY rise last year (3.6%), but still higher than the inflation rate (1.7%). In terms of academic stages, the average expenditure on junior secondary textbooks was $3,464, up 5.4% YoY. Secondary 3 had the highest recorded rise (7.3%) due to the significant difference in the amount of books used by some schools as compared to the previous school year. For example, to align more closely with the EDB’s curriculum guidelines and prepare students for senior secondary subjects, some schools added a total of 7 to 8 titles in Life and Society, Computer Studies and/or Chinese History, resulting in an increase of over $720 in expenditure on books. As for senior secondary, the average expenditure on textbooks was $2,425, which was 0.4% lower than the previous school year. As it was the transition period between the subjects Citizenship and Social Development (CSD) and Liberal Studies, the purchase of textbooks for Secondary 4 and 5 in the current and previous academic years were affected by last year’s arrangement. Taking Secondary 4 as an example, as the review of the CSD textbooks by EDB had not been completed in the previous school year, most schools had opted to use the EDB’s learning and teaching resources and self-developed teaching materials last year. In the new school year, about 85% of schools had chosen to use CSD textbooks from the Recommended Textbook List (about $170 to $220), resulting in an increase for Secondary 4. As for Secondary 5, most students would only be required to purchase 1 CSD textbook in the new school year, which was fewer than the previous requirement of 2 to 3 textbooks for Liberal Studies; hence the average expenditure of purchasing CSD textbooks for Secondary 5 was less.
In addition to textbooks, schools also require students to purchase a certain amount of supplementary exercises as essential learning materials, which also affects the total expenditure. For primary students, Chinese, English, Mathematics and General Studies accounted for 8 to 10 titles on average, while each subject required an average of 5 supplementary exercise books, accounting for 50% to 66% of the total number of titles respectively, more popular and widely chosen ones for Chinese and Mathematics had a price increase of over 8.6%, which was probably one of the reasons for a significant rise in textbook expenditure for primary schools overall. As for secondary schools, junior secondary required relatively more English titles at an average of 4, while Chinese and Mathematics required an average of 2 titles. Senior secondary required an average of 2 titles for compulsory subjects (excluding Liberal Studies and Citizenship and Social Development).
Out of the 50 primary schools surveyed, around 90% (44 schools) developed their own learning materials, with the cost of printing school-based materials ranging from $50 to $300 in general, reaching as high as $600 for some schools. Less than 30% (25%) of these schools (11 schools) offered them for free. Out of the 48 secondary schools surveyed, over 90% developed their own materials for students, and over 50% provided them for free. The rest charged students a printing fee ranging from $70 to $642. While it is well-intentioned for schools to supplement teaching with their own learning materials, the Council recommends that schools could offer these materials to their students for free or subsidise the printing cost to alleviate the financial burden of textbook expenditure on students.
Publisher’s Discounts Offered to Secondary Schools Decreased YoY
Schools can usually obtain discounts from publishers when they commission them to print book lists. However, the Council found that the discounts offered to secondary schools were noticeably smaller this year. Only 50% of secondary schools (22 schools) were offered a 10% to 12% discount, which was 20% fewer in numbers than that of last year. The situation for primary schools were similar to that of last year, with more than 70% (38 schools) of primary schools receiving a higher discount of 11% to 13%.
It should be noted that some schools may commission publishers to produce school-based materials to suit their teaching needs. The content would mainly be a combination of chapters and sections taken from standard textbooks, or combined from a few standard versions. School-based version textbooks are often sold at actual prices, ineligible for publisher discounts and may affect the overall expenditure. Almost 50% of the primary schools surveyed commissioned publishers to produce school-based textbooks, more commonly for Computer Literacy, while 20% to 30% of schools used them for Chinese or Mathematics. 80% of the secondary schools surveyed ordered school-based textbooks from publishers, which was about 20% higher than last year’s survey. School-based textbooks were mostly used for Life and Society, Computer Literacy and English for junior secondary, and Chinese for senior secondary.
COVID-19 Pandemic Forces Home-based Learning
Students May Bear “Double” Expenses
Affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, online learning has become the new normal for schools. The survey found that over 80% of primary schools (41 schools) and over 70% of secondary schools (35 schools) included at least 1 e-textbook in their book lists. Most schools had opted for textbook sets which include both e-textbooks and physical textbooks, instead of fully switching to e-textbooks, which in turn increased the textbook expenditure substantially.
According to the responses from 25 primary schools and 28 secondary schools, almost 60% of the primary schools (16 schools) indicated that students must purchase e-textbooks, especially for Computer Literacy; while 3 secondary schools replied that e-textbooks were mainly used for a small number of subjects, such as Computer Literacy of junior secondary, Information and Communication Technology and Geography of senior secondary. 7 primary schools were also implementing the “Bring Your Own Device” programme, which was based on e-textbooks and did not require students to purchase additional physical copies of textbooks. 9 primary schools indicated that students were required to purchase their own tablets or laptops through schools for lessons, at a cost which ranged from about $3,000 to $8,500. Some secondary schools expressed that they would lend electronic devices to students for long-term use on a need basis or subsidise students to purchase electronic devices.
In the long run, over 70% of the responding primary and secondary schools said that the direction of selecting teaching materials might change in the future. Over 50% of schools expressed that they would consider using printed books with online teaching resources, but only less than 30% would develop more online teaching materials on their own or opt for more e-books, reflecting that although e-textbook teaching and learning had increased, it had not become fully prevalent, and students might have to bear the “double” expenses of traditional and e-learning at the same time during this period.
Publishers Should Take Up Corporate Social Responsibility
The average expenditure on textbooks for primary and secondary school students has continued to rise each year, and when combined with the expenditure on other teaching materials and learning tools, the financial burden on families could not be undermined. The Council urges publishers to shoulder their corporate social responsibility by taking into account the affordability of students when pricing books. Book lists may include tips on using second-hand books so students can use “reprinted” or “reprinted and revised” versions of old textbooks. Schools may consider providing their own learning materials to students for free as far as possible or subsidising the printing costs for students, as well as lending electronic equipment to students according to their teaching needs and resources so that students can fully enjoy learning.
Download the article (Chinese only): https://ccchoice.org/551textbooks
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