What are latest regulations on textbooks of general education in Vietnam?

What are latest regulations on textbooks of general education in Vietnam?

Clause 1 Article 32 of the Education Law 2019 provides regulations on general education textbooks as follows:

- Textbooks implement the general education program, specifying the program’s requirements for educational objectives, content, student qualities and capacities; guidelines for teaching methods and ways to assess educational quality; and ensuring that textbook content and format do not reflect biases on ethnicity, religion, occupation, gender, age, and social status. Textbooks are published as printed books, Braille books, and electronic books.

- Each subject may have one or several textbooks. Private investment in textbook compilation is encouraged; textbook publication follows legal regulations.

- Provincial People’s Committees decide on the choice of textbooks to be used consistently in general education institutions in the locality as prescribed by the Minister of Education and Training.

- Local educational materials are compiled by provincial People’s Committees to meet local needs and characteristics, reviewed by provincial evaluation councils, and approved by the Minister of Education and Training.

What are latest regulations on textbooks of general education in Vietnam?​ (Image from the Internet)

What are procedures for selecting textbooks in educational institutions in Vietnam?

Article 7 of Circular 27/2023/TT-BGDDT stipulates the procedures for selecting textbooks in educational institutions in Vietnam as follows:

- The council develops a plan to organize the selection of textbooks for the educational institution and assigns tasks to council members.

- Organizing the selection of textbooks among the specialized groups:

+ Based on the council’s plan and textbook selection criteria, the head of the specialized group develops a plan to organize the selection of textbooks for each subject within the group, and reports to the head before implementation.

+ Organizing for all teachers of the subject at the educational institution (including tenure, contract, seconded, visiting, and inter-school teachers) to participate in selecting the subject's textbooks.

+ At least 20 days before the first meeting of the specialized group, the head organizes for teachers to review the textbooks, write evaluation forms assessing the textbooks based on the criteria.

+ The head organizes meetings with subject teachers to discuss and vote to select one textbook for that subject.

If a subject has only one textbook approved by the Minister of Education and Training, the specialized group selects the textbook without voting.

A textbook is chosen if at least half of the teachers of the subject vote for it.

If no textbook receives at least half of the votes, the specialized group must discuss and re-vote. The chosen textbook is the one with the highest number of votes in the second round.

In both rounds, if there are multiple textbooks with the highest equal number of votes, the head of the specialized group decides which one to select.

Meetings of the specialized group are minuted, recording all opinions about the textbooks, and the minutes are signed by the head of the group and the assigned recorder.

+ The head compiles the results and creates a list of the selected textbooks, signed by the head and the assigned recorder.

- The council meets to discuss and evaluate the textbook selection process of the specialized groups; review the meeting minutes of the groups; the evaluation forms by teachers as per Clause 2 Article 7 Circular 27/2023/TT-BGDDT, and compile the results into a report, including opinions on the selection process and the list of textbooks selected by the groups, signed by the Chairman and Secretary of the Council.

- The council proposes to the head the list of textbooks selected as per Circular 27/2023/TT-BGDDT.

- The educational institution prepares and submits the textbook selection dossier to the Department of Education and Training (for elementary and lower secondary levels) and to the Department of Education and Training (for upper secondary levels).

What does the dossier for selection of textbook submitted to the Department of Education and Training of Vietnam include?

Article 7 of Circular 27/2023/TT-BGDDT stipulates that the dossier for selection of textbook submitted to the Department of Education and Training of Vietnam includes:

- The decision to establish the council of the educational institution.

- The meeting minutes of the council as prescribed in Clause 3 Article 7 Circular 27/2023/TT-BGDDT.

- The list of textbooks selected by the educational institution.