The Minister of Education and Training said there will be a plan for a unified set of textbooks.

Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son said that the Ministry is developing a project for a unified set of textbooks, and is trying to have a plan by November 2025 at the earliest and implement it in time for the 2026-2027 school year.

Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son said that a complete set of textbooks will be finalized as early as November this year. (Photo: Gia Han)

On the afternoon of October 22, the National Assembly discussed three projects: the Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Education ; the draft Law on Higher Education (amended); and the draft Law on Vocational Education (amended).

The draft law amends and supplements a number of articles of the Law on Education in the direction of stipulating that the State provides a set of textbooks for uniform use nationwide. At the same time, the Government stipulates that textbooks are free for students.

Delegate Nguyen Anh Tri ( Hanoi delegation) emphasized that unifying a set of textbooks must be done. However, he raised the issue of which set of books is expected to be used and the timeframe for implementation.

According to the plan, a unified set of textbooks will be used from the 2026-2027 school year. He said that this is "too urgent" because 2025 is almost over. Mr. Tri asked: This is a big problem, but why is there no regulation in the draft law? He suggested considering and adding it to the draft law so that the Ministry of Education and Training can easily implement it.

Delegate Nguyen Tuan Thinh (Hanoi delegation) also acknowledged that implementing a unified set of textbooks from September 2026 would be "challenging and very difficult". However, he emphasized that it must be implemented to institutionalize Resolution No. 71 of the Politburo.

He said that when providing free textbooks with a unified set of textbooks, the drafting agency needs to conduct research to guide the implementation of the feasibility. He suggested printing textbooks to give to schools for students to borrow. This would be both free and economical. In case the books are damaged, students who lose them will have to pay compensation and buy replacements. Then, the implementation of the free textbook policy will be easier.

Regarding the regulations on the National Council for Textbook Appraisal and the Minister of Education and Training's approval of textbooks, Mr. Thinh suggested combining them and entrusting the Government with the task of providing detailed regulations.

Delegate Tran Van Sau (Dong Thap delegation) also supported the unified textbook set, when in reality there were many complaints about textbooks.

"There's a paradox: prices decrease for any product that undergoes socialization, but textbooks actually increase in price when socialized. Therefore, when implementing a unified set of textbooks nationwide, it's necessary to clearly define which stages are socialized and which are handled by the State," the representative questioned.

He said that the State should play a leading role in building and uniformly applying a set of textbooks nationwide.

Regarding textbook appraisal, delegate Ma Thi Thuy (Tuyen Quang delegation) commented that it is "completely appropriate", but there should be regulations to ensure independence and transparency in the appraisal process, avoiding the situation of both managing and appraising.

“There should be clear standards for council members and priority should be given to experts and experienced teachers who have no interests related to publishers,” Ms. Thuy stated her opinion.

In a further clarification, Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son stated that delegate Nguyen Anh Tri should not worry, as the Ministry is currently developing a plan.

Minister Nguyen Kim Son said that the project has a plan and will ask for the leaders' opinions. "We will try to have a plan by November at the earliest," the Minister said and affirmed that it will be implemented in time for the 2026-2027 school year.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/bo-truong-gddt-cho-biet-thoi-gian-se-co-phuong-an-mot-bo-sach-giao-khoa-thong-nhat-331851.html