A common set of textbooks: Proposal to reduce the curriculum load

The program is getting heavier and heavier.

Ms. NTT (Ninh Binh) said that after 3 years of implementing the replacement of textbooks according to the 2018 general education program (2018 program), Vietnam now has 3 sets of textbooks for teachers and students to choose from. However, besides the progress towards assessing and promoting learners' capacity, an inherent limitation of textbook authors is the academic situation, embracing a large amount of knowledge, especially the word channel and teachers have difficulty in changing teaching methods.

Sharing with PV Tien Phong , a Literature teacher said that the Vietnamese knowledge in the current textbooks is not unified. Teachers must learn and research all the remaining books, and at the same time expand the scope of the language materials outside the books. If only reading and teaching a single book, students will not be guaranteed to be equipped with comprehensive knowledge. But not all teachers have the passion to research many books.

At the recent meeting of the National Assembly 's Committee on Culture and Society on the report on the review of draft laws in the field of education, National Assembly delegate Nguyen Thi Viet Nga emphasized that textbooks are an issue that many voters and people are very interested in. Through understanding the voters' thoughts, according to Ms. Nga, there are many issues that need to be noted when implementing a program and unifying a set of textbooks. First of all, the issue of communication, when returning to a set of books, needs to be analyzed so that people and public opinion can perceive it in each specific stage, in reality, there is a requirement to have appropriate adjustments to change from many sets of books to one set of books.

Second, there needs to be caution and progress in the process of compiling a set of textbooks for use nationwide. Currently, there is not much time, according to the Central Committee's request in Resolution 71 on educational and training breakthroughs, a common set of books must be implemented from 2026. Ms. Nga proposed that we must really pay attention to the important content of reducing the curriculum load.

Ms. Nga believes that there is a gap between the requirements of the textbook reform program and the physical time for teaching in class. Teachers reflect that with the prescribed physical time, in class, they cannot teach thoroughly and teach the entire program in the textbook. This is one of the reasons for the need for extra teaching and learning. “I am not talking about negative extra teaching and learning (forced) but the real needs of both teachers and students. Because teachers say that they cannot teach all the content in the program distribution in the specific physical time. Therefore, students cannot acquire all the knowledge,” Ms. Nga shared.

After 5 years of implementing textbook replacement according to the 2018 education program, many shortcomings have been exposed. Photo: Nhu Y

Ms. Nga assessed that in recent times, the Ministry of Education and Training has made many efforts and attempts in the management of extra teaching and learning. However, these efforts have not achieved the desired results, partly because the program is too heavy. Ms. Nga reiterated that this is a reflection of those who teach in class every day, every hour. Therefore, when compiling a set of textbooks for common use, Ms. Nga noted that the Ministry of Education and Training must pay attention to reducing the program load and must have solutions to avoid waste.

Remove local book selection

Delegate Nguyen Anh Tri (Hanoi) expressed his frank opinion on the policy of one program with many sets of textbooks, which, although it is good, can be said to be almost "unsuccessful" so far. The delegate suggested that the Ministry of Education and Training should organize a National Drafting Council and a National Appraisal Council and include it in the Education Law. The lack of a National Drafting Council in the past has "caused chaos" in some periods, leading to the drafting of non-standard textbooks with many errors... Mr. Tri also suggested that the Government have regulations to ensure free textbooks for students when implementing the one-set textbook program.

Mr. Nguyen Dac Vinh, Chairman of the National Assembly's Committee on Culture and Society, also said that in the past, we had a policy of one program with many sets of textbooks. The progress and difficulties of this reform policy have been recognized in the process of practical implementation. In particular, many difficulties were pointed out when implementing in mountainous areas, remote areas. Because of these shortcomings, the Central Government decided to implement a common set of textbooks. According to Mr. Vinh, there is another issue that the Ministry of Education and Training needs to adjust. Currently, the Ministry is assigning the right to choose textbooks to the People's Committees of provinces/cities. When implementing a set of textbooks, this role must be transferred to the Ministry of Education and Training. The Ministry decides how that set of textbooks is.

“I am not talking about negative extra teaching and learning (forced) but the real needs of both teachers and students. Because teachers say that they cannot teach all the content in the program distribution in a specific physical time. Therefore, students cannot grasp all the knowledge. Analyzing the structure of the current textbook program, we can see that the knowledge standards are too high for students. Therefore, we are still struggling with how to manage extra teaching and learning”. National Assembly Delegate Nguyen Thi Viet Nga

Mr. Vinh also suggested that the Ministry of Education and Training must have a plan for the current textbooks. The unification of the use of a common set of textbooks does not mean eliminating creativity. Teachers can still refer to other documents to support teaching, enrich lessons and help students absorb knowledge more effectively. In particular, how can the 3 textbooks that have been assessed and are being used, including Canh Dieu, Chan troi sang tao, Ket ket tri thuc voi song, still be effective in teaching and learning, without waste.

Along with that, the open learning materials system is constantly supplemented and updated, which will help teachers have a repository of resources and tools to personalize lessons, suitable for students, suitable for regional characteristics, something that a set of textbooks used nationwide is difficult to achieve. The new education program is the law, orienting educational goals, and textbooks are the tools to implement that program, and open learning materials from lesson plans, electronic lectures, illustrative clips, etc. will help teachers flexibly adjust and improve teaching quality.