Debrecen4U July 6, 2025

Textbooks for the next school year are being prepared in Debrecen

State educational institutions have requested 12 million textbooks and approximately 97,000 special developmental tools for the upcoming school year.

Zoltán Maruzsa, State Secretary for Public Education at the Ministry of the Interior, announced this during his visit to Alföldi Nyomda. He added that this year, the government is providing around HUF 19 billion for production and delivery processes. As a result, all students attending state-maintained schools will receive textbooks free of charge from Grade 1 through Grade 12.

Although summer is in full swing, preparations for the 2025–2026 school year are already underway, as evidenced by the constant operation of the printing presses at the Alföldi Nyomda facility.

During his visit to the company, Zoltán Maruzsa emphasised that ensuring a stable textbook supply is a key responsibility of the state. For years, the government has provided textbooks free of charge for students from the first to the twelfth grade in all state-supported educational institutions. The focus will remain on production until the end of July, followed by distribution. “In total, over 5,000 tons will be shipped — that’s 8,400 fully loaded pallets to be produced in paper form. It’s a massive task every year. Its hub, its heart and soul, is Debrecen and Alföldi Nyomda,” he said.

Once completed, the textbooks are handed over to KELLO Könyvtárellátó Nonprofit Ltd., the nonprofit library supply company, according to managing director Zsolt Tőczik. In August, the supplies will be delivered to roughly 4,000 institutions and 1.2 million students. “In July, the pace of deliveries to KELLO increases, and the textbook publishers and Alföldi Nyomda are now delivering the final portion. That’s because this week — right now — KELLO and Alföldi Nyomda have learned the final orders from the schools,” he explained.

Over the centuries, Debrecen has earned many titles, but one of the most important is ‘the school of the nation,’ Deputy Mayor István Puskás highlighted. “It became a label for Debrecen during the Reform Era, pointing to the centuries-old traditions the city has held in the realms of Hungarian education, intellectual life, and culture — going back roughly 500 years, at least since the Reformation. Alföldi Nyomda plays an outstanding role in this legacy,” he stressed.

The textbooks produced each year at Alföldi Nyomda not only convey cutting-edge knowledge but also pass down values essential to preserving national identity for Hungarian youth — as was emphasised during the visit showcasing the printing process.

Source and photo credit: debrecen.hu