Struggling with the problem of a common set of textbooks

On the morning of August 13, the National Assembly Standing Committee gave opinions on the draft Law amending and supplementing the Law on Education. Many opinions suggested building a common set of textbooks compiled by the Ministry of Education and Training , other ministries would only be used for reference and gradually free textbooks for students. The draft law also assigned the provincial People's Committee to compile, appraise and approve local educational materials instead of the Ministry of Education and Training as it is currently.

The education sector has more important and urgent matters to deal with than textbooks.

Dr. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Minh, lecturer at Hanoi National University of Education, expressed her opinion that from 2020, when GPT chat was born and AI technology changed rapidly, the story of one or many textbooks was no longer important. It was even time to think about adjusting the 2018 general education program.

For example, in the subject of Literature, according to this lecturer, we need to ask questions: when AI can read and understand texts, write in the blink of an eye, and respond to us like humans, how should the teaching of listening, speaking, reading, and writing change? What are the most important qualities and abilities that we need to teach students in this era, so that they can adapt to a context that only 5 years ago, we thought was only in science fiction?

Ms. Minh believes that there are many extremely important and urgent problems that the education sector needs to solve.

"Therefore, if we keep dwelling on one or more textbooks, we will not have enough time and resources to focus on solving much more important questions. If we cannot thoroughly answer these questions, education will forever be backward," Ms. Minh stated her opinion.

Therefore, according to Ms. Minh, the more important questions we need to answer at this time are:

Firstly, how to change the perception of learners, teachers, education managers and the whole society about the role of textbooks, so that all these subjects understand that, now, textbooks are no longer the Bible, but need to be considered as a reference document?

Second, how to help schools, teachers, parents, and students use textbooks as well as all other reference materials in a flexible, creative, and personalized way?

Third, how to ensure fairness and equality in distribution and access to textbooks and, more broadly, in access to education?

Ms. Minh expressed her opinion that instead of worrying about one or many textbooks, whether to share them or not, we need to change society's perception that textbooks are just reference materials, and empower schools and teachers, those who understand their students best, to freely choose the reference materials that are most suitable for their students.

And in the process of searching and selecting materials, teachers are forced to observe and listen to understand their students, forced to learn to search for and evaluate materials, forced to be creative. And it is in the process of struggling to step out of the cliched formulas, the stagnant zone of habits, that their abilities are developed.

Dr. Nguyen Thi Huyen Thao, History teacher at Tran Dai Nghia High School for the Gifted, Ho Chi Minh City (middle) with students

"There is no need for another set of books"

Dr. Nguyen Thi Huyen Thao, a History teacher at Tran Dai Nghia High School for the Gifted, Ho Chi Minh City, expressed her opinion that textbooks are not the only channel, information, and knowledge content for teachers to rely on and depend entirely on to teach. The diversification and many sets of textbooks are completely consistent with the educational innovation viewpoint that the Party and State have decided and implemented to move towards a modern education, suitable to the actual conditions of the country and the region.

"Therefore, in my personal opinion, many textbooks help teachers see the diversity in approaches to knowledge and that helps teachers broaden their vision of the curriculum and teaching content. Each book has different advantages and disadvantages, depending on the approach and educational goals that teachers choose appropriately," Ms. Thao emphasized.

"Many people still see innovation as simply replacing one set of books with another," said Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan.

And most importantly, according to Ms. Thao, teachers should base on the students' level of awareness, the actual conditions of the locality and the school they teach at to choose the appropriate textbook set.

Ms. Thao said: "What we care about is whether the selection of textbooks is truly objective and based on the reality of the educational institution, that is the problem. Going back, the public's request for a set of textbooks compiled by the Ministry, in my opinion, is unnecessary and costly."

Dr. Nguyen Thi Huyen Thao said that looking back at the first high school graduation exam of the new program, we see that the efforts of the Ministry of Education and Training in educational innovation are noteworthy, there is no random selection, no limit on reading content, students must rely on their own abilities to solve the exam questions.

“That is a testament to the innovation of open education. Therefore, I still think that having another set of books compiled by the Ministry of Education and Training is unnecessary,” Ms. Thao said.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan - Master of Project Management, Monash University, Australia, said that the 2018 General Education Program is essentially an important step forward: for the first time, Vietnam designs education based on a comprehensive program framework, with clear output standards on students' abilities and qualities at each stage.

And most importantly, in accordance with the spirit of the 2018 Comprehensive Program - all textbooks are just reference materials for teachers and schools to choose, create and adjust to suit their context.

Ms. Ngan believes that textbooks should only be considered as a reference among many teaching materials, helping to encourage creativity and suit local characteristics. The quality of output is still guaranteed through a standardized testing and assessment system at the state or national level, to ensure that all students meet the standards regardless of which set of books they use.

However, according to Ms. Ngan, the use of textbooks in Vietnam in practice still has many shortcomings.

"Many teachers have not been properly trained to understand and apply the spirit of the program. Many people still see innovation as simply replacing one set of books with another. Instead of designing teaching activities and learning materials suitable for students, they stick to each page of the book, turning textbooks into fixed lesson plans. This unintentionally loses the opportunity to personalize and innovate methods," Ms. Ngan stated.

Currently, the market has three sets of textbooks from two publishers and a few odd books; with 12 million students in 9 grades using the new textbooks, hundreds of millions of copies of books have been published. Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son has repeatedly stated that it is impossible to return to using only one set of textbooks at this time because it will cause waste and affect the goal of fundamental and comprehensive educational reform.