Selected by the Ministry, approved by the Provincial People's Committee
The organization of socialized textbook selection in the past has been implemented in accordance with the provisions of 3 circulars. Specifically, Circular No. 01/2020/TT-BGDDT issued by the Ministry of Education and Training on January 30, 2020 stipulates that the right to decide on textbook selection belongs to general education institutions. 8 months later, in Circular No. 25/2020/TT-BGDDT issued on August 26, 2020 replacing Circular No. 01/2020/TT-BGDDT, the Ministry of Education and Training clearly stated: The Textbook Selection Council is established by the Provincial People's Committee, helping the Provincial People's Committee organize the selection of textbooks instead of assigning it to each school. On February 28, 2023, the Ministry of Education and Training issued Circular No. 27/2023/TT-BGDDT regulating the selection of textbooks in general education institutions with some new contents.
Accordingly, the right to approve the list of textbooks selected by local educational institutions is the responsibility of the provincial People's Committee based on the list of textbooks previously approved by the Ministry of Education and Training. The process includes the following steps: The Minister of Education and Training approves the list of textbooks used.
Next, each educational institution establishes a Textbook Selection Council for its unit. The Council meets, discusses, evaluates, selects textbooks and approves them to the Chairman of the Council. The selection results are sent to the Department of Education and Training (for primary and secondary schools)/Department of Education and Training (for high schools).
The Department/Office appraises the textbook selection dossiers of educational institutions; synthesizes the results, compiles a list of textbooks and sends it to the Department of Education and Training. Based on the selection results submitted by the Department of Education and Training, the Provincial People's Committee decides to approve the list of textbooks and simultaneously posts it on the mass media.
According to the Ministry of Education and Training, with the provisions of Circular 27, for the first time the Ministry mobilized a large number of members to participate in the National Textbook Appraisal Council with over 1,400 people from universities, research institutes, academies and high schools from all regions to advise the Minister of Education and Training for approval.
From a positive perspective, it can be seen that textbook selection is carried out with a strict process, respecting and promoting teachers' intelligence, creating conditions for teachers to proactively choose textbooks suitable for socio-economic conditions and teaching organization in the locality.
The textbook selection process helps localities, educational management agencies and educational institutions to be more proactive and responsible for teaching and learning activities. The results of textbook selection at the Subject Council match the textbooks most chosen by general education institutions.
However, many opinions say that such a process is troublesome and inappropriate because it is complicated, time-consuming and costs twice as much for appraisal (Ministry, City); this is not only costly but also wastes time for many parties.
Proposal to shorten the process
At the Conference to evaluate the socialization of textbook compilation in the 2018-2024 period organized by the Ministry of Education and Training in mid-December 2024, many management officials proposed assigning the authority to approve the list of textbooks used locally to the Department of Education and Training, instead of the provincial People's Committee as it is now.
Director of the Department of Education and Training of Quang Nam province, Thai Viet Tuong, said that one of the difficulties in selecting textbooks is that the process of consulting the Provincial People's Committee for approval takes time and requires a lot of documents (reports, explanations, textbook lists for each school, etc.), which affects the implementation. Therefore, Mr. Thai Viet Tuong proposed that the Department of Education and Training approve the list of textbooks used in the province.
Deputy Director of the Department of Education and Training of An Giang, Tran Tuan Khanh, shared that the province has a large number of educational institutions with 307 primary schools, 155 secondary schools, 54 high schools, and 9 continuing education centers, leading to difficulties in advising the Provincial People's Committee to approve the list for each unit. For convenience, he said that the responsibility of selecting books should be assigned to the Department of Education and Training.
From the practice of selecting textbooks at educational institutions, Ms. Tran Thi Bich Hanh - Principal of Ha Hoa Town Primary School (Ha Hoa District, Phu Tho Province) also agreed with the plan to assign the Department of Education and Training to issue decisions on selecting textbooks for her locality.
According to Ms. Tran Thi Bich Hanh, the Department of Education and Training is a specialized agency under the Provincial People's Committee, performing the function of advising and assisting the Provincial People's Committee in State management of education and training in the locality according to the provisions of law and performing other tasks and powers according to regulations. The Department of Education and Training, based on the actual conditions in the locality, criteria and standards for textbook selection, guides the Departments of Education and Training and educational institutions under its management to conduct research and propose the selection of the most suitable and quality textbooks.
“Currently, according to Circular No. 27/2023/TT-BGDDT, the Department of Education and Training is the agency advising the Provincial People's Committee in approving the decision on the list of textbooks. If this function is transferred to the department, it will increase initiative, reduce the process while still ensuring the quality of selection,” said Ms. Tran Thi Bich Hanh.
In addition to the above proposal, opinions also said that, to do better in choosing textbooks, educational institutions and teachers need to seriously research to choose the best quality textbooks, most suitable for their locality. During the teaching process, teachers need to continuously learn from experience and give opinions so that the textbooks can continue to be improved and supplemented to be more suitable.
On the publishers’ side, it is necessary to provide complete textbooks for educational institutions and teachers to study. In addition, there is currently no mention of regulations on providing reference books in libraries; regulations on selecting exercise books are still open; textbooks on local educational content are also unclear... Therefore, the Ministry of Education and Training and other units need to focus on these contents so that teaching and learning at schools can be implemented smoothly.
According to the Ministry of Education and Training, every year, the Ministry issues plans and directs the implementation of inspections and examinations, focusing mainly on the selection of textbooks in localities. In the period of 2020 - 2024, the Ministry will organize inspections and examinations of the implementation results and the deployment of tasks at the beginning of the school year for the Departments of Education and Training with a number of contents related to the socialization of textbooks.
The Ministry of Education and Training has conducted 10 inspections, 36 planned checks and 3 surprise inspections in 6 provinces and cities on the implementation of the 2018 General Education Program and textbook selection in localities.
Source: https://kinhtedothi.vn/giam-khau-trung-gian-trong-chon-sach-giao-khoa.html
Comment (0)