What did the teacher suggest?

The curriculum is the legal framework, while textbooks are merely teaching materials.

As a middle school teacher with over 37 years of teaching history and having witnessed numerous educational reforms and textbook changes, I personally believe that the Ministry of Education and Training does not need to compile a new set of textbooks at this time.

Because the 2018 General Education Program has already completed more than half of its course and will be finished by 2025. Furthermore, there are currently at least three sets of textbooks in use: "Cánh Diều" (Wings of the Kite), "Chân Trời Sáng Tạo" (Creative Horizons), and "Kết Nối Tri Thức Với Cuộc Sống" (Connecting Knowledge with Life). Individuals, experts, and organizations collaborated to compile these three sets of textbooks. The Ministry of Education and Training has also reviewed and approved them for localities to choose from. This aligns with the innovative spirit of the 2018 General Education Program, which emphasizes the use of multiple textbook sets (socialization).

The process of compiling textbooks through a socialized approach has been implemented in accordance with Resolution 88, with many sets of textbooks produced by various organizations already available.

Legally, the curriculum is the mandate, while textbooks are merely teaching materials for teachers. Each set of textbooks has different content, format, and layout, but all must be compiled based on a single, unified curriculum set by the Ministry of Education and Training. Textbooks are also reviewed, approved, and licensed by the Ministry of Education and Training before being used in teaching.

Therefore, in reality, textbooks are either produced by the Ministry of Education and Training or jointly owned by the Ministry of Education and Training and a publishing house. Consequently, the Ministry of Education and Training no longer needs to compile its own set of textbooks.

In terms of teaching, different sets of textbooks provide schools and teachers with more options. For example, in the 2023-2024 school year, teachers at Trinh Phong Secondary School (Dien Khanh, Khanh Hoa ) chose the 8th grade history and geography textbooks (the "Connecting Knowledge with Life" series) for teaching, but still consulted the textbooks from the "Wings of the Kite" and "Creative Horizons" series. The subject matter team also encouraged this with the goal of improving teaching quality.

The Ministry of Education and Training needs to strengthen its supervisory role before having its own set of textbooks.

However, choosing a set of textbooks also raises many issues because each set has different strengths and weaknesses.

This school year, students in grades 4, 8, and 11 will continue to study using the new curriculum and textbooks.

Most teachers commented that the current textbooks have many shortcomings and flaws, and believe that the expert groups who compiled them acted somewhat hastily. For example, the Grade 10 Literature textbook (from the "Creative Horizons" series) has already had some sections adjusted after only one year of use.

Therefore, it is essential for the Ministry of Education and Training to strengthen its role in reviewing current textbooks before considering the creation of a separate set of textbooks, in order to promptly adjust quality and avoid wasting resources on any textbook.

The Ministry of Education and Training's creation of an additional set of textbooks isn't really about solving the textbook shortage; the real issue is the price. Therefore, instead of the Ministry allocating resources and finances to producing textbooks, they should focus on controlling the selling price first.

If the Ministry of Education and Training had its own set of textbooks, would this lead to a situation where the Ministry is both playing the game and refereeing? Because the Ministry is already responsible for quality assurance and organizing assessments (such as the high school graduation exam), yet it also has its own set of textbooks. In that case, it's difficult to avoid the majority of schools choosing the Ministry's textbooks. And would the competition for textbooks, under the policy of one curriculum, multiple sets of textbooks, lead to unfairness?

Therefore, before the Ministry of Education and Training considers having its own set of textbooks, it is necessary to strengthen the role of textbook verification and evaluation, and assess the effectiveness of textbook use.

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