Ensuring students have enough textbooks after floods

After storm No. 3, the education sector suffered great damage. In particular, only counting textbooks, incomplete statistics in schools of 18 provinces and cities affected by storm No. 3 (Yagi) showed that nearly 41,600 textbooks were lost. Of which, at the primary level, nearly 24,000 were lost, at the secondary level, nearly 10,600, and at the high school level, more than 7,000 textbooks. Specifically, regarding textbooks, Yen Bai province suffered the most damage, losing more than 35,000 sets of books, followed by Cao Bang with more than 7,400. In Lao Cai province, the authorities are still synthesizing.

To quickly overcome the shortage of textbooks, the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) said it has directed publishing houses to prepare and be ready to supply textbooks to localities affected by the storm, so that learning is not interrupted. The ministry also called on publishing houses, organizations and individuals to sponsor textbooks for students.

According to information from the Vietnam Education Publishing House (the unit that compiled and published the two book series Connecting Knowledge with Life and Creative Horizons), as soon as the Ministry of Education and Training directed, this unit immediately organized the printing of 10 million additional textbooks. Combined with the number of books currently in stock, the Publishing House will provide about 18 million textbooks to the provinces affected by storms and floods.

Representatives of VEPIC Company (the unit coordinating with publishing houses to compile and publish the Canh Dieu textbook series) mobilized 4.5 million copies of inventory and printed 500,000 more copies to provide timely supply. At the same time, VEPIC Company has a policy of supporting a 50% reduction in textbook prices for schools and students in localities heavily affected by the storm. In addition, the company has donated books to poor students in Yen Bai province; directly supported students with 50% of the cover price for textbooks purchased to replace books damaged by storm No. 3.

According to the new general education program, the country currently has 3 sets of textbooks compiled by many groups of authors. Most schools choose books from many sets. A grade level can use textbooks for this subject from Canh Dieu, for another subject from Ket Noi Tri Thuc... This is causing difficulties in supporting and equipping textbooks for localities from the publishers themselves as well as organizations and individuals who want to support textbooks for flood areas.

Specifically, many volunteer groups reported that, along with necessities and clothing, textbooks are one of the priority donations that groups are calling for to send to people in flood-affected areas. However, because this work comes first from the enthusiasm of each person, while it is not always possible to immediately contact the locality where the gifts are to be delivered, it is not known what textbook list the school is using to donate.

Ms. Kim An (Thanh Xuan Bac district, Hanoi) said that when calling for people to support textbooks, the group received many brand new textbooks, printed and beautifully wrapped, but each school was different, not agreeing to use the same set, so after receiving them, the group was confused about how to classify them. "Luckily, after that, we contacted the local authorities where we wanted to send the donations, asked the school for a specific list of textbooks of the schools in the commune to serve as a basis for classifying the textbooks received by the classes, then packed them and sent them to avoid the situation of sending too many but still lacking the needed books" - Ms. An said.

However, according to Associate Professor Dr. Tran Xuan Nhi - former Deputy Minister of Education and Training, the difficulty in providing enough textbooks according to the list of books currently used by schools is obvious but not impossible to overcome.

“We cannot, just because it is difficult, go against the policy of socializing textbooks that we have persistently implemented over the years, returning to the monopoly of textbooks as before. The 2018 General Education Program with the orientation of developing students' capacity, promoting the initiative in teaching and learning of teachers and students, in which the selection of textbooks suitable for teaching and learning in each school is promoted, chosen by the teachers of that institution” - Mr. Tran Xuan Nhi emphasized.

Source: https://daidoanket.vn/dam-bao-hoc-sinh-co-du-sach-giao-khoa-sau-bao-lu-10290874.html