One of the issues raised by the monitoring delegation was "researching, submitting to the National Assembly for consideration and deciding on the policy of assigning the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) to prepare the content of a set of State textbooks". Representing the Government, as well as the education sector, Minister Nguyen Kim Son proposed that the monitoring delegation remove this content from the resolution, for many reasons, the most prominent of which is that this will greatly affect the implementation of the policy of socialization in the compilation and publication of textbooks, while causing unnecessary complications and costs.
As a person directly involved in teaching, National Assembly member and teacher Ha Anh Phuong agrees with Minister Nguyen Kim Son's point of view.
According to Ms. Phuong, right from the beginning of the innovation, the Ministry of Education and Training gathered and directed a team of experts and teachers to build a curriculum framework, which served as a basis for organizations and individuals to participate in compiling textbooks. Currently, all subjects at all three levels of education have books, so the Ministry of Education and Training does not need to compile another set of textbooks, saving costs for the State budget.
Illustration photo.
Regarding price, even without a set of textbooks from the Ministry, there is absolutely no need to worry. Because, at the recent 5th session, the National Assembly passed the Law on Prices (amended). The law has provisions on price ceilings because textbooks are essential goods, have a very large consumer base, have a very wide range of influence, the price of this item directly affects the majority of people, including low-income people.
Another reason was also raised by Minister Nguyen Kim Son, if the Ministry of Education and Training makes a set of textbooks, it will greatly affect the socialization policy stated in Resolution 88 in compiling and publishing textbooks. I agree with this.
“ With the addition of another set of textbooks from the Ministry, I am afraid that the “monopoly” in textbook supply will recur due to the safe psychology of localities when choosing. This will cause concern for investors, including investors in other fields, because they see erratic policy changes and an unstable investment environment,” said Ms. Phuong.
Ms. Phuong also believes that using multiple sets of textbooks helps students access information from multiple perspectives and different opinions on the same topic. They are encouraged to think, compare, analyze and form their own opinions based on different sources of information. This helps students develop the ability to think critically, analyze diversity and evaluate information objectively.
“ In developed countries like the United States and Finland, as far as I know, there is no such thing as a “uniform textbook”. Therefore, the meaning of implementing a program with many sets of textbooks is to take the program as the root, the program as the law, textbooks and other learning materials as reference materials ”, Ms. Phuong shared and believed that diversifying textbooks would be more suitable for regions and localities.
Regarding the issue of whether or not there should be another set of textbooks, Associate Professor, Dr. Bui Manh Hung, former Chief Coordinator, General Education Program Development Board 2018 of the Ministry of Education and Training, Member of the Vietnamese Language - Literature Program Development Board, said that the general education reform has been going on for nearly 10 years. Resolution 29 affirms the reform of the education system in an open and flexible direction, compiling textbooks and teaching materials suitable for each subject. Resolution 88 clearly states the socialization of textbook compilation.
There are a number of textbooks for each subject, encouraging organizations and individuals to compile textbooks based on the general education program. Resolution 88 also clearly states that, in order to proactively implement the new general education program, the Ministry of Education and Training organizes the compilation of a set of textbooks. This set of textbooks is evaluated and approved equally with textbooks compiled by organizations and individuals.
And so far, 2 sets of books from Vietnam Education Publishing House and 1 set of books from Vietnam Education Publishing and Equipment Investment Joint Stock Company (Vepic) have been compiled for 12 grades. Textbooks for grades 4, 8, and 11 are being prepared for schools in the next school year. And textbooks for grades 5, 9, and 12 are also gradually completing the appraisal process.
" Thus, the worry of not being able to compile textbooks on time or not covering all subjects is no longer there. Therefore, the Ministry's organization of compiling a set of textbooks at this time is unnecessary," Mr. Hung expressed his opinion.
Mr. Hung analyzed that if such a set of textbooks were compiled, it would lead to many consequences. In the immediate future, the three sets of textbooks with investments of hundreds of billions of dong, possibly thousands of billions of dong, the efforts of thousands of textbook authors, gathering most of the people capable of compiling new textbooks in Vietnam today are at risk of being gradually erased.
The bigger consequence is a return to the old way of operating the program that the world has long abandoned and it took us nearly 10 years to prepare the legal basis, expertise and practical experience to gradually escape.
“If we return to the one-program-one-textbook policy this time, it can be affirmed that we will never have the opportunity to integrate with the world in the field of programs and textbooks again. Those who expect a fundamental and comprehensive innovation for Vietnam's general education are really worried about the plan to compile a new set of textbooks. I think the Ministry of Education and Training will also be very passive if it has to implement this proposal ,” Mr. Hung worried.
"What is wrong with integrated teaching that needs to be fixed?"
On August 15, Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son admitted that integrated teaching is a "stuck, stuck, and difficult" point, and said that there is a high possibility that teaching will be adjusted.
Regarding this issue, according to Associate Professor Dr. Chu Cam Tho - Head of the Education Evaluation Research Department, integrated teaching is the right policy, but there is a lack of facilities and teachers to implement it effectively.
According to the new program, secondary school students no longer study Biology, Physics, Chemistry, History, Geography, but study two Natural Sciences, History and Geography. These two subjects are called integrated, interdisciplinary subjects.
“ I would be very sorry if integrated subjects were separated into individual subjects ,” Ms. Tho shared, adding that in Vietnam, since the 1950s, integrated teaching has appeared through the slogan “learning goes hand in hand with practice.” This is because when practicing, we never use single-subject knowledge but must combine interdisciplinary knowledge.
In fact, much knowledge in high school is presented in an interdisciplinary form. When taught in an integrated way, students have a comprehensive view, know how to apply knowledge to life quickly, saving time for experience. In short, integrated students will be provided with a full, comprehensive context to understand each event.
This is the undeniable benefit of integrated teaching. Putting integration into the new curriculum is the right policy.
“ I see that there is nothing wrong with integration that needs to be fixed. What needs to be fixed are the things that are not right when implementing integrated teaching ,” Ms. Tho shared.
Hai Son
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