Considering that the distribution of textbooks through many intermediaries increases costs unreasonably, the National Assembly Standing Committee's Supervisory Delegation proposed a comprehensive inspection.
On the afternoon of August 14, presenting a thematic monitoring report on the implementation of the National Assembly's resolutions on innovation of generaleducation programs and textbooks, the monitoring delegation said that the price of books under the new program is 2-4 times higher than that of old books.
According to the Vietnam Education Publishing House, new grade 1 textbooks cost VND179,000-194,000/set, while the old set costs VND54,000. New grade 2 textbooks cost VND179,000-186,000/set, while the old set costs VND53,000. High book prices cause difficulties for some people, especially those in areas with difficult socio -economic conditions and ethnic minorities.
The maximum distribution fee (discount) for focal units in the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 school years is 29% for textbooks, 33% for workbooks, and 15% for teachers' books. In the 2022-2023 school year, the discount rate is reduced to 28.5%, 35%, and 15%, respectively.
The monitoring team assessed that the Vietnam Education Publishing House has not performed well its duties and responsibilities in compiling, printing, and distributing textbooks, and has allowed violations and violations of the law to occur. The publishing costs and book prices are high and unreasonable compared to essential goods.
The monitoring delegation recommended that the National Assembly and the National Assembly Standing Committee consider transferring to competent authorities to inspect and comprehensively investigate the determination and use of textbook publishing costs according to the 2018 General Education Program.
Candidates taking the 2023 high school graduation exam at Tran Dai Nghia High School for the Gifted, District 1. Photo: Quynh Tran
The Ministry of Education and Training urgently issues a document guiding the method of pricing textbooks, ensuring strict control of production costs, reducing intermediate costs, and reducing discount rates to reduce book prices.
In addition, according to the Supervisory Team, the appraisal, acceptance, and editing of some textbooks were not strict, leading to poor quality, many errors, inaccurate content, and substandard writing style in many books, especially Vietnamese textbooks for grade 1, Natural Science for grade 6, and History for grade 11.
"The quality of some textbooks in the 2018 General Education Program is still limited. Some textbooks have content that is not suitable for students, are difficult, and contain heavy knowledge," the report stated.
In addition, according to the monitoring results, there are also shortcomings in the organization of textbook selection. In some localities, the preparation of textbook selection records is still lacking. The monitoring team cited the conclusion of the Ministry of Education and Training Inspectorate, pointing out that 6 provinces (Dong Thap, Kien Giang, Long An, Dak Lak, Quang Ngai and Khanh Hoa) had some shortcomings in the textbook selection process.
The new general education program (issued in 2018) is divided into two phases: basic education (grades 1 to 9) and career-oriented education (grades 10 to 12). From 2020, the roadmap for replacing new textbooks will begin to be implemented, with at least three sets of textbooks for each grade level for schools and parents to choose from. By the 2023-2024 school year, textbook replacement will be implemented at the primary level up to grade 4, at the secondary level up to grade 8, and at the high school level up to grade 11.
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