How to avoid price chaos?

National Assembly delegate Nguyen Thi Viet Nga ( Hai Duong delegation) said that it is necessary to include textbooks in the list of goods and services whose prices are determined by the state. With this regulation, we will be able to manage the prices of textbooks and avoid prices being pushed up too high.

However, there needs to be a regulation on a certain price range, meaning there must be a maximum price. This price range is regulated by the Government, and can be assigned to the Ministry of Education and Training to develop and propose.

Sharing the same view, delegate Hoang Van Cuong ( Hanoi delegation) acknowledged that putting textbooks on the list of prices set by the state will help us manage prices in a more public and transparent manner.

Textbooks are considered a special and essential commodity for education, so it is necessary to add textbooks to the list of goods and services whose prices are determined by the State. However, this would be more meaningful if the State had measures to stabilize prices.

“If we consider textbooks as a price-stabilized commodity, we need to set prices. I want to emphasize that the most important factor is price stabilization,” said Mr. Hoang Van Cuong.

New textbook prices are rising: How to avoid price chaos? - 1 — Textbooks according to the new general education program.

Delegate Vu Thi Luu Mai, Vice Chairwoman of the National Assembly's Finance and Budget Committee, said that in the process of supervising the innovation of the new general education program, textbook prices are an issue of concern to many National Assembly deputies.

This is an essential commodity and has a very wide range of influence, directly affecting people, including low-income people. Therefore, it is necessary to control and restrict prices to ensure that there is no negative impact on consumers.

Ms. Vu Thi Luu Mai cited that the draft Law on Prices (amended) being submitted by the Government to the National Assembly for comments has included textbooks in the list of goods priced by the State but only stipulates a ceiling price.

According to the explanation of the drafting agency, the State regulates the maximum selling price (ceiling price); does not fix the price, leaving the book publishers to decide the specific selling price to create competition, contribute to lowering the selling price, and ensure the interests of the people.

However, if the ceiling price is set too high, it will have a big impact on consumers. Therefore, we need to pay attention to this issue, focusing on the appraisal stage which needs to be carried out carefully, ensuring that it does not cause a reaction in society.

“On the one hand, we still let publishers set prices according to market mechanisms, but on the other hand, we cannot let businesses set prices however they want,” said Mr. Nguyen Tien Thao, Chairman of the Vietnam Valuation Association.

He said that we have regulations and legal corridors that publishers must comply with when setting prices. First of all, they must comply with regulations on costs and rely on the general pricing method issued by the Ministry of Finance.

The pricing principle is that we must comply with specific items in production that publishers must spend and have appropriate profit levels for reinvestment according to the provisions of the Price Law (amended) after being passed by the National Assembly.

Delegate Nguyen Thi Kim Thuy, Vice Chairwoman of the National Assembly's Social Committee, said that the law only stipulates the items that are priced, including textbooks, and assigns the Government to regulate the price framework appropriate to each period, regulate the maximum price to ensure the rights of consumers, and the minimum price to ensure healthy competition.

According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Thuy, this regulation will be consistent with Article 11 of the current Law on Prices, which is that production and business organizations and individuals have the right to self-determine the prices of goods and services they produce and trade, except for goods and services on the list of goods and services priced by the State, and to decide on the purchase and sale prices of goods and services they produce and trade, for which the State regulates the price range, maximum price, and minimum price.

Textbook prices have a major impact on social life, especially in remote, isolated, and economically disadvantaged areas. According to education statistics, the country has over 17 million high school students. Therefore, each increase in textbook prices has a major impact on the country's CPI.

This requires the State to have urgent solutions to regulate prices to ensure fairness and achieve social security goals, especially for remote areas and areas with economic difficulties.

Ha Cuong

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