Unifying a set of textbooks, perfecting the modern university governance mechanism

Discussing at Group 7 (including the National Assembly Delegation of Nghe An and Lam Dong provinces) on the draft Law on amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Education; the draft Law on Higher Education and the draft Law on Vocational Education, the National Assembly Deputies proposed to unify a set of textbooks for common use nationwide; implement controlled socialization and perfect the governance mechanism, academic integrity and integration in higher education.

Supplementing humane policies towards integration

Delegates expressed their high agreement with the policy of providing a unified set of textbooks for nationwide use, stipulated in Clause 8, Article 1 of the draft Law amending and supplementing Article 32 of the Law on Education... This is a correct policy, in line with the people's wishes, institutionalizing Resolution No. 71-NQ/TW of the Politburo on breakthroughs in education and training, as well as Resolution No. 88/2014/QH13 of the National Assembly on innovation of general education programs and textbooks.

According to National Assembly Deputy Nguyen Huu Thong (Lam Dong), recently, the issue of "one set of books or many sets of books" has received a lot of feedback from voters, teachers and National Assembly Deputy. The State's agreement to issue a set of textbooks for the whole country is something that the people agree with, are excited about and look forward to. "Socialization in the compilation, printing and distribution of textbooks needs to be clearly defined at each stage, avoiding abuse and negativity. Socialization must be controlled, public, transparent and ensure quality, so that the education system can operate synchronously and effectively," the delegate emphasized.

National Assembly Delegate Nguyen Huu Thong ( Lam Dong ) speaks. Photo: H.Phong

Regarding local educational materials, delegates agreed with the direction of assigning the authority to compile, appraise and approve to the provincial People's Committee... Specifically, the specialized agency of the provincial People's Committee organizes the compilation; the provincial council appraises; the Chairman of the provincial People's Committee approves. This approach helps localities to be proactive, avoiding delays in issuing documents - a situation that has caused difficulties in practice in the past.

National Assembly Deputy Nguyen Truong Giang (Lam Dong) said that the writing and regulations in the draft law are inconsistent and unclear about the objectives and implementation mechanism. A set of textbooks must serve a single goal, aiming to assess students' abilities, ensuring fairness in access to education and appropriateness for each level of education.

The delegate emphasized that the textbooks must focus on effectiveness, consistency and feasibility; not get bogged down in details or formalities. The State’s provision of a unified set of textbooks demonstrates its responsibility in ensuring equal learning opportunities, avoiding the misconception that “one set of textbooks is unfair”.

Fairness here means that all students learn the same curriculum and the same output standards. Regarding quality, delegates suggested that it is necessary to determine the criteria for evaluating textbooks that meet national, regional or international standards to match educational goals.

National Assembly Delegate Nguyen Tao (Lam Dong) speaks. Photo: Pham Thang

Regarding the regulation on free textbooks, some delegates expressed their opinion: if the State has issued and provided a unified set of books, the regulation on "free" needs to be reconsidered to avoid overlap between policies and implementation measures.

In practice, the progress of implementing the textbooks in recent times has been slow, mainly due to unclear legal regulations. Therefore, once a unified textbook set has been determined, it is necessary to specify the responsibilities of each stage - compilation, appraisal, approval... to ensure transparency and feasibility.

The delegate stated that if the Minister of Education and Training is the one who establishes the council, selects members and approves the results, then the Minister must bear the final responsibility. The council is only an advisory body and cannot take the main responsibility... This is not only a technical issue but also a political issue in education management. The textbooks are a key tool, so there must be definitive, legally binding regulations on the responsibility of the head.

Agreeing with the policy of unifying a set of textbooks, delegate Duong Khac Mai (Lam Dong) also said: many parents and teachers reported that each locality and each school chooses a separate set of textbooks, making it difficult for students to transfer schools, causing waste and confusion.

According to the delegate, unifying a set of books is reasonable and suitable for practice; the previous generation also only studied a single set of books but was still effective and economical... "Educational reform is necessary, but it is necessary to ensure stability, avoiding constant changes that make students and parents feel "experimented". The Government and the Ministry of Education and Training need long-term, fundamental solutions, ensuring that each reform is sustainable," the delegate emphasized.

Commenting at the discussion session, National Assembly Deputy Thai Van Thanh (Nghe An) assessed that this draft Law has many new breakthrough and humane points, such as: forming a vocational high school system; expanding compulsory education to the end of junior high school; eliminating exams, junior high school graduation certificates, and assigning principals to issue certificates of program completion... "Unifying a set of textbooks not only ensures equal learning opportunities, but also helps students manage, teach, and transfer schools conveniently and synchronously," the delegate emphasized.

From another perspective, many comments also suggested clarifying the phrase "implementing appropriate socialized solutions" to avoid misunderstandings and allow the compilation of many sets of books... Accordingly, socialization can be implemented in the printing, distribution or reference materials stages but must maintain the consistency of the main program.

National Assembly Deputy Thai Van Thanh (Nghe An) speaks. Photo: H.Phong

Notably, some opinions proposed institutionalizing regulations to gradually make English the second language in schools, according to Resolution 71-NQ/TW - an open direction for international integration and improving human resource competitiveness.

Academic integrity – the foundation of modern higher education

Commenting on the draft Law on Higher Education (amended), National Assembly member Trinh Thi Tu Anh (Lam Dong) emphasized the need to perfect the concepts in the explanation of terms, to avoid misunderstandings and inconsistencies in application. The delegate suggested adding the content of "community service" to the definition of higher education activities - a core function of modern educational philosophy, helping students learn through practice, connect with society and demonstrate civic responsibility.

Accordingly, university education activities need to be understood as the process of establishing, operating and controlling the quality of educational institutions, including training, research, innovation, community service and knowledge transfer.

National Assembly Delegate Trinh Thi Tu Anh (Lam Dong) speaks. Photo: Pham Thang

Regarding academic integrity, delegates proposed a comprehensive definition based on five core values: honesty, respect, fairness, trust and responsibility, based on the international framework of the Center for Academic Integrity (ICAI)... This approach helps the law not only stop at listing prohibited behaviors, but also demonstrate the academic ethical standards to aim for - the foundation for a transparent research and training culture.

Along with that, delegate Trinh Thi Tu Anh also proposed clarifying the concept of "training field" in a flexible and integrated direction, in line with the current trend of interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary education; at the same time, adding the concept of "co-tenured lecturers" to reflect the reality of teaching cooperation between domestic and foreign schools.

Regarding Article 7 on the strategy for developing higher education, delegates proposed adding the content of "innovating the university governance mechanism, improving quality and accountability".

In Article 34, delegates proposed to encourage educational institutions to apply prestigious regional and international accreditation standards such as AUN-QA, ABET, AACSB, thereby enhancing prestige, integration and creating a basis for the State's preferential mechanism for schools that meet international standards.

At the same time, delegates emphasized the development of scientific research and innovation in universities. There should be a mechanism to encourage the linkage of “institutes – schools – enterprises”, and expand international cooperation, so that universities can become centers of knowledge and innovation serving socio-economic development.

National Assembly Delegate Tran Thi Thu Hang (Lam Dong) speaks. Photo: Pham Thang

Delegates agreed that the synchronous amendment of laws in the field of education is an important opportunity to perfect the institution, ensuring the consistency, feasibility and long-term stability of the policy. According to opinions, a modern education system needs to be based on three pillars: Unified curriculum and learning materials; Transparent, autonomous and responsible governance mechanism; and a solid system of academic integrity values.

It is the foundation for developing high-quality human resources, enhancing national competitiveness, and ensuring sustainable integration in the global knowledge era.

Source: https://daibieunhandan.vn/thong-nhat-mot-bo-sach-giao-khoa-hoan-thien-co-che-quan-tri-dai-hoc-hien-dai-10392464.html