The maximum publishing fee (discount) for books under the new program for publishing units serving the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 school years is 29% of the cover price for textbooks, 33% for workbooks, and 15% for teachers' books.
For the 2022-2023 school year, the discount on textbooks is 28.5% of the cover price, workbooks are 35%, and teachers' books are 15%.
That is the noteworthy information in the initial results of the thematic monitoring "Implementation of Resolution No. 88/2014/QH13 and Resolution No. 51/2017/QH14 of the National Assembly on innovation of general education programs and textbooks".
This textbook discount figure startled some real estate company leaders when their unit distributed the entire apartment floor and only received a 2-3% discount.
Sharing with VietNamNet reporter, Mr. Nguyen Vu Cao, Chairman of Khang Land Board of Directors, a unit specializing in distributing real estate projects, said: Normally, investors only discount 2-3% on the total selling price for projects in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. As for projects that are far away and very difficult to sell, the discount is even higher, an additional 1%.
"Selling an entire apartment building will only get a 3-4% discount, or if a large quantity of land is sold, the discount will be 4%, but if a small quantity is sold, the discount will only be 3%," said Mr. Cao.
Compared to the discount on real estate sales, Mr. Cao assessed that the discount on textbooks of up to 30% is too large.
This business leader suggested that the Government should create e-books, which are easier to control and reduce the problem of piracy and counterfeiting.
Meanwhile, Mr. Pham Duc Toan, General Director of EZ Real Estate Investment and Development JSC (EZ Property) said that with real estate, if you sign a distribution contract, commit to selling the product according to schedule and deposit an amount equivalent to 5 or 10% of the contract value, you will receive a higher discount than just selling normally.
Accordingly, in the North, the average discount is 5-8%, while in the South it is higher at 10%.
If distributed normally, the current discount is 4-6%, previously only 3%. The faster the sale, the higher the discount. However, it costs a lot of money for advertising, commissions, gifts for customers...
“The highest discount for selling luxury apartments is currently 5-6%; while resort real estate is the hardest to sell, with high sales costs, the discount is about 10% or 12% for some projects,” Mr. Toan informed.
This leader asked, with textbooks, this is a special product, customers have to find and buy it themselves, they are forced to buy it, the production company does not spend much on marketing and competition, why is the discount so high?
Expert: Why is the discount so high?
From an expert perspective, sharing with VietNamNet reporter, Associate Professor, Dr. Dinh Trong Thinh, an economic expert analyzed, if books are brought to the top of the shelves, there will be transportation costs, distribution to local bookstores and placing them on the shelves, additional costs for the place of sale... then it is acceptable. As for textbooks, the number of books on the shelves is very small. So, why do we have to discount so much for the distribution and distribution system?
“Currently, from elementary to high school, students are registering books at the end of the year, what type, how many books. Accordingly, the school collects the registrations to the department, the department registers directly to the publisher, why is the cost so high?
What is the 30% discount for? We really need to consider it," Mr. Thinh said frankly.
Trade expert Vu Vinh Phu said that textbook discounts can also be related to discounts when goods want to enter modern retail supermarkets.
He said: "A supermarket employee told me that if there are items that can be entered, the discount for the supermarket is up to 40%, they said it is based on an agreement. Meanwhile, the profits of rice, potato, and fish producers are not like that. Retail is being dominated like that in some supermarkets. As for the story of textbooks, in my opinion, if the discount is over 20%, it is very high."
"This discount is not someone's own money, but it pushes up the price of textbooks, and millions of students have to suffer," said Mr. Vu Vinh Phu, adding that the discount level needs to be reduced significantly to be reasonable.
So, what are the options to reduce textbook discounts?
According to Mr. Thinh, textbooks are related to the whole system with a very large volume that arises regularly and planned every year. Therefore, it is completely possible to collect from departments and branches, minimizing costs.
At that time, there will only be transportation costs to local departments, and the departments will distribute them to schools. Managing the education system in this way will save maximum costs, thereby reducing the price of textbooks.
According to report No. 752/BC-TTCP dated March 16, 2023 of the Government Inspector General, during the inspection period from 2014-2017, the total discount was 25% of the cover price. Of which: 4 joint stock companies of books and educational equipment in the region (North, Central, South, Cuu Long) are level 1 agents of the publisher and enjoy 5%; local book and school equipment companies in the region (level 2 agents) enjoy 7-8%; bookstores and schools (level 3 agents) enjoy 12-13%. The total discount of 25% is deducted directly from the sales invoices of level 1 agents.
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