Nearly 1,400 schools have joined the new cooperative textbook publisher Neon which promises to give them more control over the price, quality and sustainability of teaching materials, broadcaster NOS reported on Thursday.

The initiative already represents more than 650,000 pupils, about a quarter of all primary and secondary school students in the Netherlands, NOS said.

Established publishers have faced criticism from schools for years over rising costs and the quality of textbooks. In particular, schools complain that workbooks often have to be replaced every year, creating waste and extra expense.

Neon was set up by entrepreneur Marten Blankesteijn, one of the founders of digital news platform Blendle, and aims to develop teaching materials together with schools.

About 120 school groups, covering more than 500 primary schools and almost 900 secondary schools, are now contributing to the development of the new books.

The cooperative says its books will be cheaper and easier to adapt than existing methods. Schools are expected to pay about €20 per pupil per year for the full set of materials, excluding printing costs.

Four educational publishers – Noordhoff, Malmberg, ThiemeMeulenhoff and Zwijsen – currently control about 80% of the schoolbook market. They declined to tell NOS whether the arrival of Neon would lead to lower prices.

Two investigations into competition in the sector are currently underway, and the education ministry has warned that government intervention may follow if improvements are not made.