Agreeing on a common set of textbooks, delegates 'offer ideas' to avoid wasting existing sets of books

Chairman of the Committee for Culture and Society Nguyen Dac Vinh suggested that when unifying the common textbook set, existing textbooks should not be banned but converted into reference materials.

Chairman of the Committee for Culture and Society Nguyen Dac Vinh - Photo: LAM HIEN

On the morning of October 11, the Committee on Culture and Society held its third plenary session to give opinions on draft laws related to education that will be submitted to the National Assembly at its upcoming 10th session.

Need to organize a national textbook drafting council

Regarding textbooks, the draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Education clearly states that the State shall provide a set of textbooks for unified use nationwide to ensure fairness in access to education, quality, modernity, and suitability with educational goals.

The Government regulates free textbooks for students; implements appropriate socialized solutions for textbooks, ensuring sustainability and meeting the requirements of improving the quality of education.

The National Textbook Appraisal Council is prescribed and established by the Minister of Education and Training for each subject and educational activity at each level and class to appraise textbooks.

The Council and its members are responsible for the content and quality of the appraisal.

The Minister of Education and Training approves textbooks for use in general education institutions after they have been appraised and classified by the National Council for Textbook Appraisal; and prescribes standards and procedures for compiling and editing general education textbooks.

Giving his opinion later, delegate Nguyen Anh Tri (Hanoi) said that the policy of one program with many sets of textbooks, while having advantages, can be said to be almost "failed and unsuccessful".

He suggested that it is necessary to amend the provisions in the bill to ensure that the Ministry of Education and Training organizes a national drafting council and a national appraisal council.

Because there is no mention of a national drafting council yet and this has caused chaos in some periods, drafting a set of books that are not standard, with many errors...

Compiling a set of common textbooks, attention should be paid to reducing the curriculum load.

Meeting scene - Photo: LAM HIEN

Chairman of the Committee for Culture and Society Nguyen Dac Vinh pointed out that a program with many sets of textbooks has made a lot of progress but in practice there are many difficulties, especially in remote areas...

He stated the policy of clearly stating that there is a common set of textbooks and it is reflected in the draft law. However, the drafting agency has not completely revised it as there is still a provision assigning the provincial People's Committee to choose textbooks.

"So how to choose? If it is shared, this responsibility must be transferred to the Ministry. The Ministry must not only evaluate but also issue regulations on what constitutes shared textbooks," Mr. Vinh said and suggested that there must be a plan for the textbooks currently in use because they have been worked hard to create.

He proposed that in addition to the content put into common use, the remaining documents are also intellectual products, with great reference value for teachers and students.

Therefore, it should not be banned but left as reference materials to help parents, teachers and students have access and encourage the development of educational materials. At the same time, the authorities are responsible for periodically developing and updating textbooks.

He added that according to the directive from the beginning of the next school year, there must be a common set of textbooks, so it is very urgent.

Delegate Nguyen Thi Viet Nga (Hai Phong) suggested that when implementing the policy of a common set of textbooks, it is necessary to propagate so that people can clearly see the adjustments in each stage to suit reality.

She said that the progress of implementing a set of common textbooks is very urgent and requires caution, responsibility, and quality of the books.

She suggested that in the process of compiling a set of common textbooks, attention should be paid to reducing the curriculum content.

Because currently there are still complaints from people, many teachers and experts that the curriculum is not reduced but in some new textbooks it is even heavier.

Specifically, there is a gap between the program requirements and the time allocated for teaching in class. Teachers reflect that if they only teach according to the program, the time allocated in class cannot fully teach the content.

Therefore, there is a need for extra teaching and learning, not to mention forcing students to take extra classes.

"Students cannot grasp all the knowledge, but the structure of the exam content is based on the knowledge standards in the program. This leads to the standards being too high for students...", Ms. Nga said and suggested that attention should be paid to this issue.

She also raised the need to limit waste with existing textbooks that have been assessed and put into teaching when implementing a common set of textbooks.

"These are books that have been compiled quite elaborately, so when there is a new book set for common use, the Ministry also needs to have solutions for the existing book sets of organizations and individuals to avoid waste," Ms. Nga added.

Explaining later, Deputy Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Van Phuc stated that the draft law will institutionalize the use of a unified set of textbooks. At the same time, the Ministry will review the contents related to the compilation of textbooks in sub-law documents.

The country currently has three sets of textbooks, including Canh Dieu (of the Pedagogical Publishing House, Ho Chi Minh City University of Education Publishing House and Vietnam Education Equipment and Publishing Investment Joint Stock Company). The "Knowledge Connection" and "Creative Horizon" sets of the Vietnam Education Publishing House.

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THANH CHUNG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/thong-nhat-bo-sach-giao-khoa-dung-chung-dai-bieu-hien-ke-tranh-lang-phi-cac-bo-sach-dang-co-20251011115654267.htm