Ministry of Education issues standards for electronic textbooks: Banning advertisements, flexible downloading

(Dan Tri) - The Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) is seeking opinions on the draft Circular on standards, conversion processes and organization of appraisal of electronic textbooks.

The draft defines e-textbooks as printed textbooks that have been converted to digital format, allowing learners to read, listen, and watch using electronic means after being assessed and approved by the Ministry of Education and Training .

The requirements for the technological features of e-textbooks are set at a high level. Accordingly, e-textbooks must be multi-platform digital products, have good compatibility with electronic devices such as computers, phones, e-readers and support access for people with disabilities.

In addition to basic features such as searching, highlighting, taking notes, zooming in and out of content, selecting answers, dragging and dropping, listening to repeat, entering text, etc., e-textbooks must be linked to learning management systems, integrating artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality (VR) technology.

In particular, the draft requires books to have a feature that allows downloading even without a stable Internet connection, ensuring users can always use them.

In terms of infrastructure and security, the draft requires that the data storage server system must be located in Vietnam and have a Vietnamese Internet domain name. Electronic textbooks must strictly comply with the Law on Cyber ​​Security, protect personal data, have measures to protect learners from online threats, and ensure that they do not contain harmful or offensive links or content.

Notably, the draft regulation completely prohibits the insertion of advertisements, commercial content, shopping suggestions or external introductions into electronic textbooks. This is to ensure pedagogical quality, maintain student concentration and avoid commercialization of educational content.

Regarding the conversion process from print to electronic version, Article 8 stipulates that the conversion unit must coordinate with general education institutions to organize technical experiments and evaluate user experience on representative groups of students and teachers.

The minimum number of experimental periods must be equal to 10% of the total number of periods prescribed in the general education program of each subject and educational activity, to ensure quality and technical stability before the books are put into mass use.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giao-duc/bo-giao-duc-ra-tieu-chuan-sgk-dien-tu-cam-quang-cao-tai-ve-linh-hoat-20251203124103180.htm