National Assembly deputies worry about the risk of eliminating socialization of textbook compilation

On the afternoon of May 23, continuing the agenda of the 5th session, the National Assembly discussed in the plenary hall some remaining points of disagreement in the draft Law on Prices (amended).

Speaking in the assembly hall, National Assembly Deputy Nguyen Thi Kim Thuy ( Da Nang delegation) raised the issue of textbook prices.

Representative Kim Thúy stated that, previously, when discussing textbook prices, she had pointed out the reality that purchasing textbooks has become a burden for many parents and students. The main reason is that book publishers, through schools, always sell textbooks along with a large number of supplementary books.

"I welcome the Ministry of Education and Training's acceptance of this feedback and its issuance of Directive No. 643 dated June 10, 2022: requiring an end to the practice of packaging textbooks and reference books together to force students to purchase reference books in any form. Based on my observations, this directive has been largely implemented seriously."

At the Fourth Session, during the plenary discussion on the afternoon of November 11, 2022, I proposed that the Law on Prices (amended) entrust the Government with the authority to regulate textbook prices in the form of a price framework, including maximum and minimum prices, similar to other goods whose prices are determined by the State.

Minister and Head of the Drafting Committee Ho Duc Phoc addressed the National Assembly, responding to my comments, as follows:

"We think this is a very good idea. Currently, in our thinking, we always think about how to regulate prices so that they don't get too high, but we haven't thought about how to prevent prices from getting too low. When businesses with the potential to dominate the market use measures, or in other words, use tactics like drastically lowering prices to drive out competitors and create a monopoly profit. We accept this idea," said delegate Kim Thúy.

National Assembly Deputy Nguyen Thi Kim Thuy delivered a speech in the assembly hall.

However, when studying the draft Law submitted to the National Assembly for consideration and approval, the delegate stated: "The draft does not reflect the Minister's and Head of the Drafting Committee's feedback, nor does it provide any explanations (even though Report No. 480 of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly on the feedback, explanations, and revisions to this draft law is 112 pages long)."

I believe that the Minister's feedback to the National Assembly demonstrated a very comprehensive, thorough, and realistic assessment of the issue. If the law does not specify a maximum and minimum price range, then the National Assembly will see the Minister's concerns become a reality.

But what prevented the draft Law from reflecting the Minister's correct opinion? Could it be that somewhere there is a different viewpoint from Resolution 29 of the Central Party Committee on fundamental and comprehensive reform of education and training, which mentions "diversifying learning materials," and point g, clause 3, Article 2 of Resolution 88 of the National Assembly (on reforming the curriculum and textbooks for general education) and point b, clause 1, Article 32 of the Education Law both stipulate "socializing the compilation of textbooks?", Representative Kim Thúy shared.

According to the delegates, the amended Education Law of 2019 also reflects a different viewpoint from Resolution 88 by not granting the right to choose textbooks to "educational institutions" but to the People's Committees at the provincial level. "I keep wondering: Between the regulations of Resolution 88 and the regulations of the Education Law, which regulation is more easily exploited to serve 'group interests'?", said the delegate from Da Nang.

Based on the above analysis, the delegates suggested that if the current National Assembly finds that the policy of socializing textbook compilation, as set forth by the 13th National Assembly, has many shortcomings, then Resolution 88 should be amended to terminate the implementation of this policy.

Conversely, the National Assembly should add necessary provisions to the Price Law to ensure consistency in policy; it should not allow a situation where the legislative body issues contradictory regulations: one encouraging socialization, the other creating loopholes for unfair competition, restricting socialization, or even risking eliminating socialization in textbook compilation. At the same time, the representative requested clarification and explanation of the aforementioned issues .

Source: https://www.nguoiduatin.vn/dbqh-lo-ngay-co-xoa-bo-xa-hoi-hoa-viec-bien-soan-sach-giao-khoa-a609177.html