Why do students have to buy book covers? Where does the discount percentage go?

Regarding the high cost of textbooks (textbooks) for grades 3, 7, 10 under the new general education program, 2-3 times higher than the current price of textbooks, master education expert Nguyen Quoc Vuong said that The public’s anger about the price of books is justifiable.

“Vietnam is still a poor country. A set of textbooks costs up to several hundred thousand dong, not to mention reference books, exercise books, and English books, which is a burden for families, especially for families with 2-3 children going to school. Meanwhile, textbooks that can’t be reused are a huge waste,” said Master Nguyen Quoc Vuong.

Price list of 7th grade textbooks (excluding English books), Ministry of Knowledge Connection with Life (Vietnam Education Publishing House).

As an education expert and also a book maker, Master Nguyen Quoc Vuong supports the policy of a multi-textbook program. However, there are shortcomings in the implementation of this policy.

In terms of long-term strategy, education expert Nguyen Quoc Vuong said that if general education (grades 1-9-12) is considered compulsory, the state should spend the budget to buy textbooks and distribute them to students. or resell at the cheapest possible price) like many countries around the world are doing.

In terms of price management techniques, Master Nguyen Quoc Vuong calculates that it is possible to reduce the price of textbooks. From the experience of a book editor and publisher, Mr. Vuong said that usually when books are sold in the market, consumers enjoy a percentage discount. For example, a book costs 100,000 VND, when readers buy the book, it will be sold by the final supplier at a discount of 10%, 15%, 20%, even 25%.

“But textbooks and even reference books and exercise books sold with textbooks are bought by parents at the cover price. It poses a technical question, where did the percentage of the discount from the first supplier to the student go? This is a question that needs a satisfactory answer,” said Master Nguyen Quoc Vuong.

Education expert Nguyen Quoc Vuong.

According to Mr. Vuong, the unit providing textbooks is a business unit, so they must make a profit to do it. However, if we can solve the problem of students and parents who are not the ones who buy books with the cover price, we will see that the price of textbooks will be greatly reduced.

Before the explanation of the publishers and the Ministry of Education and Training about the high cost of compiling, printing and distributing textbooks under the new general education program, causing the price of textbooks to be inflated, Master Nguyen Quoc Vuong said that this both reasonable and unreasonable.

Reasonable from a business perspective, when investing more money, making more beautiful books, the production costs increase, leading to an increase in prices. However, textbooks are not ordinary goods but are compulsory items for all school-age students to use and be equipped with.

“It is impossible to use the excuse that the cost of production is high, so the price is high. Because the business of textbooks not only brings direct profits from textbooks, but the accompanying profits are exercise books, exercise books, reference books, school supplies … “, Mr. Vuong commented.

In addition, to reduce the cost of textbooks, education expert Nguyen Quoc Vuong said that it is necessary to be transparent in all stages, including the bidding and printing of textbooks. People only know that the increased input costs make the cost of books high without specific information.

“Another shortcoming is that the current textbook-making units are still too few. Although there are many different sets of books, only units of Vietnam Education Publishing House do. There needs to be a way for many different units to participate in making textbooks, creating a healthy competition, thereby reducing the cost of textbooks”, Mr. Vuong suggested.

Before the comments of many National Assembly deputies about the shortcomings in textbook renewal, at the group discussion session of the National Assembly on May 25, Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son said that when comparing book prices, we compare them. Compare prices for similar books. That is, compare the prices of new compiled books under the 2018 general education program with each other.

For example, new books for grade 1, grade 2, grade 3, grade 7, grade 10, that is, a new compiling system, socializing according to the National Assembly’s policy of socializing many sets of books.

These cleaners compile with larger format, better paper. The process from compilation to introduction, testing, and release is that enterprises are fully responsible for that and declare prices with the Ministry of Finance.

The cost of the 3rd, 7th and 10th grade books of the Education Publishing House this year is reduced by 10-15% compared to the corresponding new books last year, while the cost of materials and fuel increased. up.

Compared to the old books of the 2016 program, those are the books that the state has spent money on many stages from compilation to evaluation.

That is, the sections that were previously organized by the state according to the old system, are smaller in size, and have bad paper. Compared to the old set of books, the price ranges from 50,000 to more than 100,000 VND. The price of the new set of books ranges from 200,000 to 300,000 VND depending on the type of book.

“If we compare it with the books of the old system, we see it differently. But if compared with the book of the new program, it is equal, so it is more reasonable. If compared to the previous book series organized by the state and we say it increased, the comparison is not similar,” said the Minister of Education and Training.

The Minister of Education and Training also said that for Vietnam Education Publishing House, the Ministry has directed each book to spend 25,000 copies to distribute to students in remote areas. However, this number is still small. Therefore, other measures are needed.

Besides, as soon as the book has not been released, the publisher has been asked to provide PDF files on the publisher’s pages so that students can download the files conveniently. The Minister of Education and Training also said that the ministry is implementing solutions to bring the price of books at the most reasonable and convenient level for learners.

Tran Ngoc