Dozens of Dutch school boards are launching their own publisher, Neon, to make teaching materials cheaper, more flexible and better aligned with pupils’ needs. The non-profit initiative aims to challenge the dominance of the four major textbook publishers, broadcaster NOS reported on Wednesday.

Neon – short for Nederlands Onderwijsinstituut – aims to bring together around 50 school boards, representing half a million pupils, or one fifth of all Dutch primary and secondary students, by the end of this year. At present, 12 boards are involved in the project.

Founder Marten Blankesteijn, who previously worked at publishing house Noordhoff, says he was struck by how difficult it was to innovate within traditional publishers.

With the Neon approach, “teachers can reorder chapters, add examples or shorten sections with a few clicks,” he told NOS. “We are giving control back to education.”

The software automatically converts these changes into digital lessons or printable pdfs. Schools will also be able to share and reuse each other’s adaptations through a central Neon library.

Schools will pay about €20 per pupil per year for the Neon teaching materials, compared with the current average of €300. The first 45 authors and software engineers, all employed by Neon, will start work this month.

“This will be a breakthrough,” said Annet Kil of the Gooise Scholen Federatie. “It’s more sustainable, cheaper and improves quality.”

Publishers that dominate the schoolbook sector remain sceptical. “It would be fantastic if it worked,” said Jorien Castelein of industry group MEVW, “but I can’t see how you can produce and maintain quality material for that price.”

Four educational publishers – Noordhoff, Malmberg, ThiemeMeulenhoff and Zwijsen – currently control about 80% of the schoolbook market.

Junior education minister Koen Becking said he is watching the development “with interest”. “If this increases choice and improves quality and affordability, that’s a good thing,” he said.