PM approves 36 mln USD textbook reform project

The Prime Minister has approved a national project to reform textbooks and curriculum for schools.
The Prime Minister has approved a national project to reform textbooks and curriculum for schools.

The project will cost about 36 million USD, much lower than a 1.7-billion- USD proposal made in 2014.

Theproject will change the entire education system (grades 1-12) and focuson building students' practical learning skills and increasinginteraction between teachers and students.

According to the plan, a complete set of new textbooks will be gradually introduced starting from the 2018-19 school year.

Theoriginal cost of the project came under fierce fire in 2014. Educationexperts and the public were also concerned about its ability to providestudents with skills for self-learning, communicating and logicalthinking.

Concern was also raised at the preparations for teaching with the new materials.

Oneof the expected breakthroughs of this project would be ensuring thatstudents can draw knowledge from various disciplines, giving them betterskills and knowledge to deal with problems at school and life.

Thefirst phrase of the project will be carried out from this month untilJune, 2016. It will focus on preparing sub-projects, building a steeringcommittee - and training textbook writers.

The second phrase,from July 2016 to June 2018, will focus on writing and piloting at leastone set of textbooks for grade 1, grade 6 and grade 10. This periodwill also be used to focus on training teachers.

The thirdphrase, from July 2018 to October 2023, will roll out new textbooks forvarious grades and start applying them gradually.

The Ministry ofEducation and Training will oversee the writing and publishing of onecomplete set of textbooks from grade 1-12 and encourages otherpublishers, individuals and organisations to write their own versions.But these versions will have to be approved by Government agencies.

Thechosen set of textbooks will include from teachers, students andparents. The general curriculum will be built by the Ministry ofEducation and Training.

The 36 million USD cost will be funded by the Government, but there will be supplemental funding from private sources.

Inan interview with Vietnam News in 2014, Deputy Minister of Educationand Training Nguyen Vinh Hien said there would be constant assessmentsof the whole project.

He said the ministry wanted to increasehealthy competition among textbook publishers to reflect the diversityof Vietnam's regions and cultures.-VNA

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