BEIJING (BLOOMBERG) - China's Ministry of Education has ordered a state-owned publisher to change illustrations in a set of its primary school textbooks after widespread public criticism that the pictures were ugly, pornographic and racist.

People's Education Press must "rectify and reform" the publications, the ministry said in a statement on Saturday (May 28).

The publisher of educational books was told to redesign the illustrations and ensure the new ones are in place by the fall semester, after they are reviewed and approved by the ministry, according to the statement.

The ministry ordered a thorough inspection of primary and middle-school textbooks nationwide, and vowed to seriously deal with public comments and advice to ensure teaching materials "adhere to the right political direction and value orientation, promote outstanding Chinese culture, and conform to the aesthetic tastes of the general public".

The publisher issued a public apology on its official Wechat account on Saturday and said it had reflected on the public concern and felt a deep sense of guilt. A special working group had been set up to select quality designers to replace all illustrations in these textbooks, initiate a thorough inspection of other teaching materials and listen to parents' and teachers' advice, it said.

The original illustrations were widely criticised from last week and the topic continued to be one of the top trending items on China's Twitter-like Weibo social-media platform on Saturday.