The National Assembly heatedly debated whether it was necessary to compile another set of textbooks.

On the afternoon of October 31, the National Assembly discussed in the hall the results of the implementation of the socio-economic development plan for 2023; the expected socio-economic development plan for 2024 and many other important contents.

This afternoon, two delegates debated whether or not the Ministry of Education and Training should be assigned to compile a complete set of textbooks.

Reasons why we should not compile another set of textbooks

The debate of National Assembly delegates stemmed from the statement of delegate Nguyen Duy Thanh (Ca Mau delegation).

In his speech, delegate Nguyen Duy Thanh expressed his disagreement with the assignment of the Ministry of Education and Training to compile a complete set of textbooks (from grades 1 to 12) according to Resolution 88/2014/QH13 of the National Assembly.

The reason, according to the delegate, is that in terms of legal basis, this is not consistent with Resolution No. 122/2020/QH14 of the National Assembly and the 2019 Education Law. "Both of the above documents have adjusted the provisions of Resolution 88 on the Ministry of Education and Training organizing the compilation of a set of textbooks," the delegate said.

On a practical basis, delegates said that this is not consistent with the reality that the policy of socializing textbook compilation has achieved results and is being implemented smoothly.

Regarding the consequences, the delegate pointed out that this leads to not allowing socialization, returning to a monopoly situation, contrary to the policy of encouraging socialization, going against the international trend.

The State's responsibility in textbook development is very necessary.

In a debate with delegate Nguyen Duy Thanh, delegate Nguyen Thi Mai Hoa (National Assembly Delegation of Dong Thap Province) emphasized that the Supervisory Delegation highly appreciated and acknowledged the results of the process of socializing textbook compilation. In the 2020-2021 school year, there were 5 sets of textbooks for grade 1. From the 2021-2022 school year to now, there have been 3 sets of books: Connecting knowledge with life, Creative horizons, and Kite.

"There are 1,574 authors who have participated in writing books, showing that a large number of scientists and teachers have been mobilized to create quality textbooks," said the delegate.

Regarding whether the Ministry of Education should make a set of textbooks or not? Is it contrary to Resolution No. 122/2020/QH14 of the National Assembly or not? The delegate emphasized that Resolution 88/2014/QH13 is the original resolution, requiring the Ministry of Education and Training to organize the compilation of a complete set of textbooks. However, by 2020, in the 9th Session, due to the new school year, grade 1 did not have a set of textbooks from the Ministry of Education and Training, so it was allowed when there was one textbook for a subject through socialization without using state budget sources.

However, through monitoring, the Monitoring Team found that it is still necessary to carry out the State's responsibility for developing content, programs, and textbooks.

The delegate said that the fact that the Ministry of Education and Training has not compiled a set of textbooks does not mean that we will not trust socialized textbooks. However, it is necessary to have a set of textbooks to be completely proactive in all situations.

According to the delegate, the content related to the Ministry of Education and Training compiling a set of textbooks has been clearly stated in the report of the Supervisory Delegation sent to the National Assembly Deputies. The delegate hopes that delegate Nguyen Duy Thanh and other National Assembly Deputies will study further.

The most important thing is to use the current textbooks effectively.

In a legal debate with delegate Nguyen Thi Mai Hoa, delegate Luu Ba Mac (Lang Son Province National Assembly Delegation) said that the Ministry of Education and Training should not be assigned to compile a set of textbooks. Compiling another set of textbooks at the present time is not really urgent.

The delegate emphasized, "the most important thing at this time is to focus on assigning the Ministry of Education and Training to research and seriously implement a plan to select and effectively use the textbooks that are currently in use."

According to the delegate, based on the current textbooks and textbooks for each subject, it is important to continue to select textbooks that are suitable for the capacity and teaching methods of teachers; suitable for the learning capacity as well as the psychological level of students in each locality and each school. At the same time, it is necessary to assign to this subject the real right and professional responsibility to choose the most suitable textbooks for the subject and the practical situation at their educational institution.

State management agencies are responsible for inspecting, urging and supervising the selection of textbooks and should not interfere with teachers' professional work in selecting textbooks for their own educational institutions.

The delegate also said that the Ministry of Education and Training should only compile textbooks after a specific, objective and scientific summary and evaluation of the coming time.

The most important thing at the present time, according to the delegate, is to maintain the trust, consensus and participation of teachers, students, parents and the whole society to ensure the quality of education. From there, it will reduce insecurity in the family, in school, in society; at the same time, it will also reduce the waste of social resources to be able to compile another set of textbooks./.

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