The socialization of textbooks will be the right policy only when users of this special product see that the product has more advantages than before.
Implementing the 2018 General Education Program, for the first time in our country, textbooks are published and distributed through socialization instead of being assigned to a publisher and having their prices subsidized by the state as before.
According to the report of the Ministry of Education and Training, after 5 years of implementing the socialization of textbooks, many optimistic things and bright colors have been shown, and the report affirms that this is a correct policy that needs to continue to be promoted and strengthened.
Statistics from the Ministry of Education and Training show that the market share of textbook publishing in the 2021-2023 period of Vietnam Education Publishing House has increased from 100% before implementing socialization to 71.8% now. The policy of socializing textbook compilation and publishing is also affirmed to create competition, contributing to promoting book compilation and publishing activities. In addition, socialized textbooks have mobilized the number of authors to compile 3 times higher than before, in which the number of authors with academic titles and degrees from doctorate or higher accounts for nearly 3/4...
However, those who directly spend money to buy and use textbooks do not seem to care about factors such as which publisher has how much market share, what academic title or degree the author of the textbook is. What people care about is the quality, price, convenience in use, whether buying textbooks today has outstanding advantages compared to before or not...
Over the past 5 years, complaints about the price, quality, lack of supply, lateness, etc. of textbooks have never stopped. Socialization has caused prices to increase many times, the number of books to be purchased is greater, the phenomenon of "beer with peanuts" is more painful when every textbook comes with exercise books, references, etc. The operation when there are many sets of textbooks is still confusing, making school transfers, exams, and assessments a constant concern for students, parents, and schools. Not to mention that there are textbooks with so many errors that they have to be edited right after implementation...
In response to complaints and confusion from localities when implementing socialized textbooks with many different sets of books, Mr. Pham Ngoc Thuong, Deputy Minister of Education and Training, said that changing perceptions about the role of textbooks needs to be stronger. When it is correctly determined that textbooks are only learning materials, and that teaching, testing and evaluating students closely follow the program and requirements, there will no longer be difficulties such as the problems raised by the Departments of Education and Training.
Speaking at the National Assembly, delegate Tran Van Sau (Dong Thap delegation) pointed out the paradox that when other sectors are socialized, product prices will decrease, but textbooks are more and more socialized, so prices will increase. "Socializing textbooks is right, but it should be at an appropriate level, and socialization should not be turned into commercialization," he said.
This is also the desire of every citizen and every school. No matter how socialized or changed, the special role of textbooks cannot be denied, because a small change in the operation of this product will have a big impact on every family with children going to school.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/xa-hoi-hoa-sach-giao-khoa-phai-vi-nguoi-hoc-185241213230527913.htm
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