VietNamNet Bridge – HCM City authorities have decided that e-textbooks will be used at schools in the city instead of print textbooks, as part of its education modernization program.

Dr. Vo Van Sen, a member of the HCM City People’s Council, and President of the HCM City University of Social Sciences and Humanities, agrees with the decision.

While admitting that the project would be costly (several trillions of dong) and there would be difficulties ahead, Sen still believes it should be done.

“If we shrink back from difficulties, we will never succeed with the education modernization program,” he said.

According to Sen, e-textbooks are being used in developed countries and by privately run and international schools in Vietnam. HCM city can learn lessons from these countries’ experiences.

Dr. Nguyen Kim Dung from the HCM City University of Education said that HCM City has high intellectual standards, and it is appropriate that the city would be the pioneer in digitalizing textbooks for general school students.

She emphasized that e-textbooks will be more helpful for students in the digital era. “This will help enhance student and teacher capabilities, and help improve teaching methods,” she said.

E-textbooks have been used in privately-run and international schools in the city for many years. However, it would be more difficult to use e-textbooks at state-owned schools, because the schools’ expenses depend on the state and city budgets.

Parents say “no”

Dung conceded that problems could arise, but the success of the project will depend heavily on students’ and parents’ readiness to use e-textbooks.

Since state-owned schools will run the project with money from the state budget and parents’ funds, parents need to be convinced about the necessity of e-textbooks.

Therefore, she believes that in order to ensure the success of the project, it would be better to use e-textbooks at some schools with good teaching staff and good facilities and materials.

Not all students need to have a tablet, she said, adding that many families cannot afford them.

Still, even though Vietnamese educators advocate modernizing education facilities, many parents do not think this is a good option for their children.

Pham Thanh Phuong, a parent in Go Vap District, said that tablets were impractical for primary school students because they could damage the expensive device.

“A tablet is priced at VND4-5 million, which is really a fortune for some parents. If students lose their print textbooks, the parents can buy new textbooks. But this will be different for e-textbooks,” she explained.

Meanwhile, Nguyen Thi Duong from district 5, was even more vocal in his criticism of the modernisation programme. He said the city’s education department’s should devise a plant that would feasible for the majority of students, not just the minority of students from rich families.

Tien Phong