2020-2021 School Year: New textbooks announced, Provincial People's Committees will choose for students
There are 32 textbooks of 8 subjects approved in the list of grade 1 textbooks used in general schools.
The Provincial People's Committee will select textbooks for use.
The Ministry of Education and Training said that the selection of textbooks for use in general education institutions is decided by the Provincial People's Committee according to regulations of the Minister of Education and Training.
The Ministry of Education and Training is developing a Circular to guide implementation in accordance with the provisions of the Law. This Circular guides the selection of textbooks for each subject and educational activity at all levels and does not strictly stipulate that provincial People's Committees must select all textbooks for subjects in the same set or can only select one set of textbooks for the locality.
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| Mr. Thai Van Tai, Director of the Department of Primary Education, Ministry of Education and Training. Photo: Thanh Hung |
From March to May, the Department of Education and Training and the Publishing House organized training courses on textbook use for teachers implementing the new general education program for grade 1. From March to August, schools trained, and publishing houses implemented printing and publishing programs. The textbooks will be used from the 2020-2021 school year.
Vietnam Education Publishing House has the advantage
24 out of 32 first grade textbook manuscripts that have just been approved for use in the new school year are from the Vietnam Education Publishing House. Many opinions say that the market share of the Education Publishing House is still very large, while the goal is to diversify books and fight monopoly.
Answering these questions, Mr. Thai Van Tai said that exclusivity only exists when there is one set, but currently there are many sets from many different groups of authors. The selection process at the local level must be based on the suitability of each locality. Therefore, do not worry too much about exclusivity. Exclusivity will be minimized in the near future.
There has been talk of a "pilot program"
Regarding the fact that all three sample copies of the first grade textbook on Educational Technology by Professor Ho Ngoc Dai were rated "unsatisfactory" by the National Council for Textbook Appraisal, Head of the Department of Primary Education Thai Van Tai said that on November 15, the Government Office issued a document conveying the Prime Minister's opinion regarding the review and re-appraisal of Professor Ho Ngoc Dai's books.
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| English class of students at Le Mao Primary School - Vinh City. Photo courtesy of My Ha |
Regarding the re-evaluation of the Experimental program, according to Mr. Tai, since 2017, the Minister has re-evaluated the contents related to Vietnamese Textbook 1 CNGD. The Council also assessed that Vietnamese Textbook 1 CNDG is only suitable for the current program.
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| Members of the New Textbook Appraisal Council. |
Will avoid sudden price increases
Regarding questions surrounding textbook prices, a representative of the Department of Financial Planning (Ministry of Education and Training) said that Resolution 88 of the National Assembly assigned the Government to develop a financial mechanism. Currently, textbooks affect a very wide range of families. In the coming time, the Ministry of Education and Training will coordinate with the Ministry of Finance to conduct research and report to the Government to have a suitable textbook mechanism, ensuring fairness and avoiding sudden price increases.
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| Class time of primary school students in Con Cuong district. Photo courtesy of My Ha |
