Textbook prices are rising. They range on average from 2.3% for lower secondary school to 1.8% for upper secondary school, numbers still below inflation. But based on the list prices transmitted by the Italian Publishers Association to the Ministry of Education and Merit, the average total expenditure that each family must bear to purchase school books has decreased by 1.4% compared to the previous year. And this, both in lower and upper secondary schools, is thanks to the wide range of available titles and the increasingly careful choices of teachers.
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The three reforms
Publishers set the price of school textbooks in January each year, delivering the price lists to the association which shares them with the ministry and school offices. Prices remain unchanged throughout the year and cannot be modified or increased during the year, explain Aie. “Also this year publishers have limited price increases,” emphasizes Giorgio Riva, president of the Educational group of the association, “thus helping not to worsen the economic burden on families, despite the costs they face having increased, not only due to inflation. In the last twelve months the sector has seen the introduction of three reforms: the reform of the first cycle (primary and lower secondary school) starting in 2026, the reform of technical institutes starting in 2026, and the reform of high schools, recently announced, starting in 2027. Reforms that entail for publishers the upheaval of multi-year editorial planning, and consequently the devaluation of investments already made and acceleration costs of projects.”
Where public intervention is needed
In the face of a demographic decline that makes supporting the industry increasingly difficult, publishers are asking for public intervention along two lines. On one hand, the introduction of a tax deduction for expenses for the purchase of textbooks in favor of all families, “as already exists for expenses for health, sports, and pets,” and on the other, greater rationalization and efficiency of the process of distributing aid to families in absolute poverty. “Funds must reach beneficiaries in a timely manner. These are necessary interventions to guarantee an effective right to education for all,” concludes the president of the Educational group of Aie.
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Literacy, 37% of adults below minimum level
In our country, 37% of adults aged 25 to 64 fall below the minimum literacy competence level, against an OECD average of 27%. The data, taken from “Education at a Glance 2025” and cited by Fondazione Cariplo ahead of the World Literacy Day on September 8, is accompanied by another indicator concerning early childhood: according to the 2025 survey of the 0-2 years surveillance system of the Higher Institute of Health, in the 2 to 5 months age group, 53.3% of children were not exposed to reading aloud in the week before the interview. Fondazione Cariplo relates these data to the importance of linguistic experiences and reading from the earliest years of life. According to the material distributed by the Foundation, the foundations of literacy skills are built long before school entry, through exposure to language, stories, and environments rich in stimuli. The ISS data show marked territorial differences: among children aged 2-5 months, the share not exposed to reading aloud varies from 33.7% in Friuli-Venezia Giulia to 68.2% in Sicily. The situation improves with age: among 11 to 15 months old children, 68.3% are exposed to books. Compared to 2022, in the 2-5 months group the share of children involved in reading rose from 41.7% to 46.7%.
Access (difficult) to educational services
The issue also concerns access to educational services. A study by the Evaluation Lab of Fondazione Social Venture Giordano Dell’Amore, carried out within the challenge “Anita. Childhood first,” reports that 92% of families consider educational services for children aged 0 to 3 essential, but four out of ten have never used them. In provinces neighboring the Foundation’s reference area, the unavailability of the service weighs most, indicated by 32.3% of families who have never enrolled their children in nursery; in Lombardy, Novara, and Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, cost has a greater impact, reported by 24.5%. Another survey, conducted by Fondazione Santagata and the Museum Subscription Association on 255 museums that responded to the survey, reports access difficulties also in cultural places. According to the results cited by Fondazione Cariplo, 60% present a level of accessibility judged poor for the 0-6 years age group, 40% do not have spaces designed for young children, and only 9% are fully equipped.
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