What do elementary school teachers say?

Fourth-grade textbooks are sold at Nguyen Tri Phuong Bookstore and School Supplies, Ward 9, District 5, Ho Chi Minh City.

Being more proactive comes with greater responsibility.

A reporter from Thanh Nien Newspaper interviewed Mr. Nguyen Van Dai Thanh, former principal of Ho Van Thanh Primary School (now retired), District 12, Ho Chi Minh City.

Teacher Dai Thanh stated that the 2018 General Education Program includes multiple sets of textbooks. The advantage of returning the right to choose textbooks to schools is that the textbook selection council, comprising school representatives, teachers, and parent representatives, understands the specific characteristics of students and parents in their local area. This allows them to select the most suitable textbooks for the students and their families.

"The power to choose textbooks should be given back to the schools. I support schools being able to choose textbooks for their students. This will gain more parental support, leading to a more consensual approach to children's education . Schools should be allowed to choose textbooks, and their choices should be respected, based on explanations and analyses of the reasons behind those choices," said Mr. Thanh.

A homeroom teacher at a primary school in District 3, Ho Chi Minh City, said that regarding textbook selection, in previous school years, they have been providing feedback to schools for selection and review. Afterward, the opinions from primary school teachers are sent to the education department, which then makes a decision on the chosen textbook set.

According to the primary school teacher, by giving schools the power to choose textbooks, the decision-making power of school principals and parent representatives will be more proactive, making it easier for students to access the new curriculum textbooks. In particular, the chosen textbooks will be more suitable to the specific characteristics of students in each locality, given that many sets of textbooks are currently in circulation.

Students are buying textbooks for the 2023-2024 school year.

The principal of a primary school in Tan Binh District, Ho Chi Minh City, said that giving schools the right to choose textbooks has the positive aspect of allowing them to proactively implement and take full responsibility for the content.

However, this principal expressed concern: "If schools are left to decide, it will be difficult in terms of expertise when selecting textbooks, information, and pricing… Principals are ultimately responsible for textbook selection, which is quite stressful. Therefore, very thorough guidance and training are needed, and the process must be carried out systematically," this principal shared.

A unique characteristic of primary school teachers is that they teach many subjects, except for a few subjects like music , physical education, and English, which have dedicated subject teachers. Therefore, instead of each secondary or high school teacher only evaluating textbooks for a single subject (mathematics, literature, physics), primary school teachers will research, evaluate, and review many textbooks across various fields, from mathematics and Vietnamese language to ethics, social studies, history, geography, and experiential learning.

Therefore, some primary school teachers in Ho Chi Minh City are wondering if teachers participating in reading, reviewing, and evaluating textbooks for so many subjects will become too scattered and reduce effectiveness.

How can we ensure transparency?

The issue of transparency in textbook selection is of great concern to readers of Thanh Nien Newspaper. When the power to choose textbooks is returned to schools, how can the textbook selection council be ensured to be fair, systematic, transparent, and in the best interests of the students?

We raised this issue with a primary school teacher in charge of homeroom teaching in Ho Chi Minh City. This teacher suggested that to increase objectivity and transparency, a staff member from the Department of Education and Training should participate in the textbook selection meeting at each school. Furthermore, competent authorities such as the People's Committees of wards and districts could also assist the school in the overall textbook selection process.

Students at a primary school in Ho Chi Minh City during an English class.

According to Mr. Nguyen Van Dai Thanh, based on the experience of selecting textbooks in 2020, during the textbook selection process, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training and the Ministry of Education and Training also provide very specific criteria for schools to use in their selection. To ensure objectivity and a multi-faceted approach, the school also shared these criteria with parents so they could participate with the school in evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of each set of textbooks.

"The selection of textbooks must be based on specific and clear criteria set by the Department and Ministry of Education and Training, not just on personal feelings. The textbook selection process involves all teachers in the school," said Mr. Dai Thanh.

What is the draft regulation from the Ministry of Education and Training regarding how schools should select textbooks?

According to the Ministry of Education and Training's draft regulations on textbook selection, each school will establish a textbook selection council. For schools with multiple grade levels, each grade level will have its own council.

The council includes: the head, the deputy head; representatives of the heads of subject departments, subject groups, and subject offices (collectively referred to as subject departments), representatives of teachers, and representatives of the parent-teacher association.

The number of council members must be an odd number, with a minimum of 11. For general education institutions with fewer than 10 classes, the minimum number of council members is 5.

The council's responsibilities include reviewing the minutes of subject group meetings; teachers' feedback and evaluation forms on textbooks; and the list of textbooks selected by the subject groups. Based on this review, the council compiles and proposes to the school principal a list of textbooks selected by the subject groups after the review process has deemed them satisfactory.

The chairman of the council is responsible for the council's operations, planning, and implementation of its work plan. In addition, the chairman is accountable for the institution's textbook selection.

Tue Nguyen

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