Proposing the National Assembly to consider assigning the Ministry of Education to make textbooks

The National Assembly Standing Committee proposed that the National Assembly consider and decide on the policy of assigning the Ministry of Education to compile a set of textbooks.

According to the Resolution on thematic supervision of innovation of general education programs and textbooks issued on September 18, the National Assembly Standing Committee assessed that the Ministry of Education and Training's failure to compile a set of textbooks according to Resolution No. 88/2014 "has not fully performed the State's responsibilities, especially in managing, updating, and developing general education content; managing and regulating textbook prices".

The assessment, reception and editing of textbooks are not strict, leading to errors in content in 18 textbooks, especially Vietnamese textbooks for grade 1, Natural Science textbooks for grade 6, and History textbooks for grade 11.

The National Assembly Standing Committee believes that the Ministry of Education and Training is primarily responsible for the above-mentioned shortcomings, and requests the National Assembly to consider and decide on the policy of continuing to implement Resolution No. 88 on assigning this Ministry to organize the compilation of a set of textbooks. This agency also requests to consider the responsibilities of related organizations and individuals.

On the positive side, the National Assembly Standing Committee assessed that the content of current textbooks closely follows the requirements of the new program, mobilizing a large number of experts, scientists, and teachers with qualifications, prestige, and experience.

Grade 2 textbooks used in the 2021-2022 school year. Photo: Vietnam Education Publishing House — Grade 2 textbooks used in the 2021-2022 school year. Photo: *Vietnam Education Publishing House*

The policy of reforming the general education program began in 2013. In 2014, the National Assembly issued Resolution 88, stating that in addition to the policy of socializing textbook compilation, the Ministry of Education and Training organized the compilation of a set with a budget of 16 million USD from a loan from the World Bank. However, the Ministry of Education and Training failed to do the job.

Mr. Phung Xuan Nha, Minister of this Ministry, said in 2019 that initially there were two options: assigning the Education Publishing House or choosing a consulting firm (publisher) to make the book. Both were not implemented due to the regulations of Vietnamese law and the World Bank. After that, the Ministry reported to the Prime Minister about the plan to select authors to organize the compilation, but it was also not completed because most of them had signed contracts with publishers.

In 2020, the textbook replacement roadmap was implemented, first in grade 1. By this school year, textbook replacement will be implemented from primary to grade 4, from middle school to grade 8, from high school to grade 11 and will be completed in 2025.

Currently, the market has three sets of textbooks from two publishers and a number of individual books. With 12 million students, 9 grades have used textbooks and new materials according to the 2018 program, hundreds of millions of copies of books have been published.

The proposal to assign the Ministry of Education and Training to compile a set of textbooks has been discussed many times. At the National Assembly Standing Committee's supervision session on the innovation of general education programs and textbooks on the afternoon of August 14, Minister Nguyen Kim Son said that the state (Ministry of Education and Training) holds and oversees the unified national program. That is the core content of education, the law, and textbooks are learning materials to support teachers in conveying the program.

"The program is unique and unified; the learning materials are diverse and flexible. So is there a need for a set of textbooks, a set of state-owned learning materials?", Minister Son asked. Mr. Son believes that the Ministry's compilation of textbooks not only affects the socialization policy but can also impact the spirit of innovation that the industry is aiming for.

However, Mr. Nguyen Dac Vinh, Chairman of the National Assembly's Committee on Culture and Education, disagreed. According to Mr. Vinh, the program only stipulates the knowledge framework, while the general knowledge content is also especially important, specifically shown in textbooks.

National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue also said that socialization must still ensure that the state plays a leading role in developing the education sector. Therefore, he suggested that the Ministry seriously implement the requirement of Resolution 88 to compile the state's textbooks.

Son Ha

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