Schools may once again be allowed to choose their own textbooks.

After three years of the provincial People's Committee being in charge of establishing the textbook selection council, from the following year onwards, schools may be assigned this task, similar to the first year of introducing new textbooks.

The Ministry of Education and Training issued a draft circular on October 20th regulating the selection of textbooks in general education schools. According to the draft, the textbook selection council for each school will be established by the principal. Each school will have its own council.

Thus, the establishment of the textbook selection council is similar to that of early 2020 - the first year that textbooks under the new general education program were put into use. For the past three school years, the textbook selection council was established by the Provincial People's Committee, with each subject at each educational level having its own council, and schools only contributed their opinions.

With the policy of "one curriculum, many textbooks" and the elimination of publishing monopolies, the current textbooks for the 2018 general education curriculum consist of three sets: " Connecting Knowledge with Life ," "Creative Horizons ," and "Kite," which have been in use since 2020.

Because there are many sets of textbooks, with each subject having numerous titles from different publishers, it is necessary to select textbooks that are appropriate to the socio -economic characteristics of the locality and the teaching and learning conditions in schools.

Allowing provincial People's Committees to decide on textbook selection is considered to create drawbacks, such as potentially creating a textbook monopoly at the local level, or preventing teachers and students from truly having a choice in which textbooks to use.

During the socio-economic discussion at the National Assembly on June 1st, Representative Nguyen Thi Kim Thuy (Da Nang) stated that "there is a lack of transparency, objectivity, and respect for the opinions of teachers, schools, and parents in the selection of textbooks." She proposed giving schools and teachers the right to choose textbooks, instead of the provincial People's Committees.

Covers of some 4th grade textbooks published by Vietnam Education Publishing House. Photo: Vietnam Education Publishing House

The Ministry's draft clearly states that the textbook selection council will include the principal, vice-principal, heads of subject departments, teacher representatives, and representatives of the parent committee. The number of members will be an odd number, with a minimum of 11 people. For schools with fewer than 10 classes, the minimum number of council members will be 5.

Regarding the process, all teachers of each subject will participate in selecting the textbooks for that subject. The teachers will study the textbooks, write review and evaluation forms.

Next, the head of the subject group will meet with the teachers to discuss and vote on one textbook for each subject. The chosen textbook must be selected with the participation of at least half of the teachers. If this percentage is not met, the subject group must discuss, analyze, and vote again.

After the second round of voting, if no book receives more than half of the teachers' votes, the subject group will decide to choose the book with the highest number of votes from both rounds.

Based on the list selected by the professional team, the school council will discuss, evaluate, and summarize the results, then propose a list to the head of the school. Afterward, schools will prepare a book selection dossier and send it to the Department or Ministry of Education and Training.

Based on the results submitted by the Department of Education and Training, the Provincial People's Committee decides to approve the list of textbooks selected for schools in the locality.

Provincial People's Committees must publish the list of approved books for use in schools on mass media before April 30th of each year.

During the implementation process, if teachers, students, and parents have suggestions, schools will propose adjustments or additions to the list of textbooks to the Department or Ministry of Education and Training.

The Ministry of Education and Training is seeking feedback on this draft until December 20th (See draft).

Duong Tam

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