One program, one unified set of books

In recent days, there have been many opinions about this issue. We had the opportunity to discuss with an education manager - Ms. Nguyen Thi Diep - Principal of Newton Primary and Secondary School (Hoai Duc, Hanoi)

Hello Ms. Nguyen Thi Diep. I understand that you have many years of experience as an education manager. Could you please tell me which textbooks are being used in the 2018 general education program?

Hello. I am very happy that you are interested in the school. I also had the honor of managing public educational units from 2009 to 2022 when I retired. Then I continued to manage non-public units. Previously, implementing the 2006 education program, the whole country had only one set of common, unified textbooks.

By 2019, the 2018 general education program will begin to be implemented in grade 1, in parallel with the 2006 program from grade 2 to grade 12 and will be implemented annually in all grades. Up to now, the use of many sets of textbooks to teach the new program in parallel has been stable at all 3 levels. Schools have the right to choose appropriate textbooks for teaching. Each set of books has its own advantages. At Newton Primary and Secondary School, after research, consensus and selection, we teach the Knowledge Connection book set at the Primary level, and the Secondary level is using the Canh Dieu book set.

Please give your opinion about each set of textbooks you are using.

In general, each book when written is the heart and soul of the group of authors, and each has its own advantages.

The book series “Connecting knowledge with life” links the lessons together clearly and closely. The content of the book is suitable for students' learning needs, supporting students to apply knowledge to solve problems in daily life, from personal to social. The book is designed with a new style, attractive in form and structure, with clear images and text, classifying content according to specific topics. The book has an additional "soft book" version that also supports teachers in the teaching process and provides review resources for parents and students, an interactive version of the original book series.

The Canh Dieu book series is a continuation of the 2006 education program... With the consistent philosophy of "Bringing life into lessons - Bringing lessons into life", the Canh Dieu book series creates creative inspiration for teachers and students. Canh Dieu books are easy to teach, easy to learn, easy to test and evaluate. In particular, when teaching and learning, teachers and students do not find it difficult but can easily adapt, with good results. The role of the electronic learning material warehouse has rich theoretical content, images and exercise systems, closely following the content, meeting the requirements of the general education program. All subjects in the Canh Dieu series are "open". This helps teachers to flexibly adjust to suit many types of students and promote their creativity.

Canh Dieu textbooks are designed to be open, helping students easily connect with reality. Illustration: Dao Hien

According to Resolution 71 of the Politburo , in order to have a unified set of textbooks in time for teachers and students to study in the 2025-2026 school year, what would be the most feasible option?

The Politburo has just issued Resolution 71 specifically for education, in which many issues are resolved. One of them is to unify a common set of textbooks. After several years of implementing many sets of textbooks in parallel, certain results have been achieved, but there are also many shortcomings. The issuance of a common set of textbooks is inevitable in the current situation.

However, to have a common set of textbooks used from the 2025-2026 school year requires a sensitive approach in the spirit of "running and lining up at the same time". If a completely new set of textbooks is compiled, it may not be in time for the next school year.

Currently, the textbooks in use all have their own advantages and are trusted and chosen by schools. It is impossible to abandon this textbook set and take another one.

Some people think that we should choose by subject, so that each level of education has all 3 sets of books. Some people also suggest that each subject should be chosen by lesson, assembling the sets of books to have a common set. But in my opinion, to create fairness, the Ministry of Education should choose by level of education. For example, 3 sets of books will be used at 3 levels of education, so that there is both a common consensus and no waste.

Of course, in the process of using a common set of books, there will be appropriate adjustments and supplements. Especially for the subjects of History - Geography and Local Education, it is necessary to update them to match the current two-level government model. Issuing corrections and supplements is normal for publishing work, without having to rewrite the whole thing, causing waste and expense.

What criteria should be used to select a unified set of textbooks to ensure objectivity, science, and fairness in the continuity and modernization of the education sector in response to new requirements, ma'am?

In the current situation, to have a common set of textbooks, in my opinion, the selection needs to be based on a number of criteria, in which the priority for learners is number one. Besides, it is necessary to have a consistent factor, closely following the content of the 2018 general education program. Currently, all 3 sets of books are applied equally, it is impossible to take one set and leave the other. Therefore, it is best to choose a combination of all 3 sets of books, both inheriting and promoting the intellectual resources of the Council of Compiling the books, and saving a lot of printing costs.

To be in time for the 2025-2026 school year, it is best to choose one set for each level of education (for example, the book set "Connecting knowledge with life" for primary school, the book set "Kite" for middle school, the book set "Creative horizon" for high school, for example). This also brings fairness to the book sets - the dedication of the Editorial Council for many years, and at the same time, it is also a willingness to accept the opinions of teachers and students to edit to suit the needs of learners and teachers.

Hopefully next school year, teachers and students across the country will have the desired set of common books.

Thank you very much!

Source: https://tienphong.vn/mot-chuong-trinh-mot-bo-sach-thong-nhat-y-kien-nguoi-trong-cuoc-post1783351.tpo