The Politburo requests a unified set of textbooks nationwide.

The Politburo directed the review of the implementation of the general education program, ensuring the provision of a unified set of textbooks nationwide.

The above directive is included in Resolution 71 of the Politburo on breakthroughs in education and training development, issued on August 22.

Previously, Resolution 88 of the National Assembly in 2014 on innovation of general education programs and textbooks advocated one program, many sets of books and socialization of textbook compilation, eliminating the monopoly on publishing. In particular, the Ministry of Education and Training was assigned to compile a set with a budget of 16 million USD from a loan from the World Bank.

However, for many reasons, the Ministry could not do this. The National Assembly then agreed that if each subject had at least one set of textbooks that had been appraised and approved, the budget would no longer be used to compile textbooks for that subject. From 2020, the roadmap for replacing new textbooks began, with three sets of textbooks for each grade level for schools to choose from.

From here, the proposal to assign the Ministry of Education and Training to compile a set of textbooks continued to be discussed many times. On August 13, during the session to give opinions on the draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Education, Mr. Nguyen Dac Vinh, Chairman of the National Assembly's Committee on Culture and Society, proposed to study the development of a common set of textbooks. The Ministry of Education and Training could compile other sets as reference materials.

Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Khac Dinh also suggested that the Ministry institutionalize the need for a common set of textbooks into the law to ensure consistency.

Students of Dinh Tien Hoang Primary School, Thu Duc City in a class in September 2023. Photo: Quynh Tran

Currently, there are three sets of textbooks and some odd books on the market. All high school students have used the new textbooks. Depending on actual conditions and needs, schools can choose books to teach. With about 20 million students, 12 grades, hundreds of millions of books have been published.

In addition to the requirement to provide a unified set of textbooks nationwide, Resolution 71 of the Politburo states that by 2030, textbooks will be provided free of charge to all students.

Source: https://baohatinh.vn/bo-chinh-tri-yeu-cau-mot-bo-sach-giao-khoa-thong-nhat-toan-quoc-post294503.html