What are procedures for selecting textbooks in general education institutions in Vietnam?

What are procedures for selecting textbooks in general education institutions in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Article 7 of Circular 27/2023/TT-BGDDT, the procedures for selecting textbooks in general education institutions in Vietnam are as follows:

- Step 1: The Council develops a plan for organizing the selection of textbooks within the educational institution and assigns tasks to the Council members.

- Step 2: The professional department organizes the selection of textbooks based on the Council's plan and the criteria for selecting textbooks. The head of the professional department develops a plan for the selection of textbooks for each subject within the professional department and reports to the leader before implementation;

+ The entire teaching staff of the subject at the educational institution (including full-time, contract, seconded, visiting, and part-time teachers) participates in the selection of textbooks for that subject;

+ No later than 20 days before the first meeting of the professional department, the head of the professional department organizes for the subject teachers to study the textbooks, write review forms, and evaluate textbooks according to the criteria for selecting textbooks;

+ The head of the professional department convenes meetings with the subject teachers to discuss and vote to select one (01) textbook for the subject. If the subject has only one textbook approved by the Minister of Education and Training, the professional department selects the textbook without voting.

The chosen textbook must receive votes from at least 1/2 (one-half) of the subject teachers. If no textbook receives votes from at least 1/2 (one-half) of the subject teachers, the professional department must re-discuss and vote again; the textbook chosen in the second vote is the one with the highest number of votes from the subject teachers.

In both voting rounds, if there are two (02) textbooks with the highest equal number of votes, the head of the professional department decides which textbook to choose among the ones with the highest number of votes.

The meetings of the professional department must be documented, recording the comments and evaluations of the participating subject teachers, and the minutes must be signed by the head of the professional department and the person assigned to take the minutes;

+ The head of the professional department compiles the results and creates a list of textbooks selected by the professional department, signed by the head of the professional department and the person assigned to compile the list of textbooks.

- Step 3: The Council convenes to discuss and evaluate the organization of the textbook selection by the professional departments; reviews the minutes of the professional department meetings and the review forms and evaluations of textbooks by teachers as stipulated in Step 2; consolidates the results of textbook selection from the professional departments into a report (including comments and evaluations on the organization of textbook selection by the professional departments and the list of selected textbooks), signed by the Chairman and Secretary of the Council.

- Step 4: The Council proposes to the leader the list of textbooks selected by the professional departments in accordance with the regulations in Circular 27/2023/TT-BGDDT.

- Step 5: The educational institution prepares a dossier on the selection of textbooks and sends it to the Department of Education and Training (for primary and lower secondary schools) or the Department of Education and Training (for upper secondary schools). The dossier includes:

+ The decision to establish the Council by the educational institution;

+ The minutes of the Council meeting as specified in Clause 3, Article 7 of Circular 27/2023/TT-BGDDT;

+ The list of textbooks selected by the educational institution.

What are procedures for selecting textbooks in general education institutions in Vietnam?​ (Image from the Internet)

What are the duties of the Council for selecting textbooks general education institutions in Vietnam?

According to Article 6 of Circular 27/2023/TT-BGDDT, the duties of the Council for selecting textbooks general education institutions in Vietnam include:

- Organizing the review of the minutes of the professional department meetings, teachers’ review forms, and the list of textbooks selected by the professional departments;

- Consolidating and proposing to the leader the list of textbooks selected by the professional departments after they meet the requirements according to Circular 27/2023/TT-BGDDT.

What are the funding sources for organizing the selection of textbooks in general education institutions in Vietnam?

Article 9 of Circular 27/2023/TT-BGDDT, the funding source for organizing the selection of textbooks is provided by the state budget and allocated in the regular expenditure estimates of the units according to the state budget's decentralization.

The content and level of expenditure for activities related to the selection of textbooks are implemented according to current regulations. In cases where there are specific expenditures beyond the general regulations of the Ministry of Finance, the provincial People's Committee shall submit to the provincial People's Council for a decision according to the provisions of the State Budget Law 2015.