Newsroom
Cyprus schools have begun the new academic year with a textbook supply problem that the Education Ministry says has been exaggerated, while acknowledging that a number of private contractors failed to deliver printed material on time.
The Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth said Thursday that 97% of the roughly 700 textbook titles required across public primary, secondary and technical education had already reached schools.
The figure means around 3% of the titles remained affected by delivery delays as the 2026-27 school year got underway.
The ministry attributed the shortages to a small number of contractors responsible for printing the books. According to the ministry, the companies failed to meet their contractual obligations and cited technical difficulties for the delays.
In response, the ministry terminated the affected contracts and reassigned the printing work to new contractors. In cases where the books could not be produced in time, the Government Printing Office was brought in to print temporary booklet versions so lessons could proceed until the full editions arrive.
The ministry's response came after reports and public statements questioned whether schools had received sufficient teaching material for the start of the year. It rejected claims that schools were starting the year without textbooks as “unfounded”, arguing that such descriptions were creating unnecessary anxiety among pupils, parents and teachers.
All textbooks used by Cyprus' public schools are also available digitally through the ministry's website. Schools dealing with delays in particular subjects are using other editions that have already been delivered, according to the ministry.
The dispute has nevertheless exposed problems in the procurement and delivery process, with the ministry itself confirming that contracted suppliers missed their deadlines and that some agreements had to be terminated.
The ministry also used the statement to criticise teachers' unions, accusing some organisations of turning issues that were already being addressed into crises. It specifically referred to textbook deliveries and school air-conditioning systems.
It further accused some unions of openly opposing the implementation of teacher evaluation legislation and refusing to participate in initiatives linked to student health and safety.
The ministry said the new school year marks the beginning of several education reforms that it believes will improve teaching, learning and day-to-day school life.
It called on teachers and their unions to remain active partners in the reform process and said it would continue dialogue with them while respecting their institutional role.
The ministry ended by calling for responsibility towards pupils and urging all sides to abandon practices it said had kept the education system stagnant.
For parents and teachers, however, the immediate issue remains practical: ensuring that the books required for lessons are physically available in classrooms when they are needed.
