A significant portion of funds allocated for new books in Danish primary schools is being diverted to administrative costs, raising concerns about the efficiency of the initiative. Last year, the Danish Parliament earmarked 540 million kroner to enhance reading resources in primary schools.

However, a recent analysis reveals that only 42 percent of the allocated budget is directly used for purchasing books. The remaining 58 percent is reportedly being spent on administrative overhead.

The Center for Teaching Materials, the organization responsible for managing the book funding initiative, defends the allocation of resources. According to the Center, the administrative expenses are justified due to the structure of the funding pool established by the Danish Parliament.

The funding pool requires the creation of criteria, application processes, project organization, evaluation procedures, and communication strategies. Critics argue that this inherent logic of the funding pool leads to centralization and wasteful spending of taxpayer money on bureaucracy.