VietNamNet Bridge – Just within two days, the Ministry of Education and Training released two dispatches ordering to recall two reference books for pre-school children, because the books had unreasonable contents which did not come in line with the Vietnamese education program.

The decision to recall the books was only made after the books with serious mistakes had been in circulation for a long time. Prior to that, a parent discovered the image of Chinese flag on his child’s book. The discovery stirred up the society.

However, the existence of a Chinese flag on pre-school children’s book was not the only shocking discovery. Reporters, who decided to make a survey on the children’s reference book found out that the market has been chaotic and uncontrollable.

There are numerous books for children which are the products from many different publishing houses. A parent said he has been puzzled with too many books and does not know what is the best for her child, because all the authors of the books “promise” to help children grow up dynamic and clever.

A five-book set of the University of Education’s Publishing House, priced at VND65,000 has been introduced as effectively assisting children learn math, Vietnamese language and practice writing.

Another set of books of Minh Long Culture Services Company, which also targets the children preparing to go to primary school, priced at VND72,000, promises to help children “develop their math aptitude.”

There are also many choices for the children aged four or lower. The books have been printed on different materials, from paper, fabric to plastics, and indestructible for students. They are priced at VND6,000-100,000. Especially, an encyclopedia has also been compiled for children. This is a set of many books, priced at VND6,000 for each.

Huong from Big C supermarket chain said parents especially show their interests in the books which promise to help develop children’s talents. Vietnamese parents believe that obtaining high education level is the best way for their children to make way in the world.

Parents need to become smart consumers

The existence of numerous reference books for pre-school children has made many parents puzzled. They don’t know what books to choose for their children, when a lot of serious mistakes have been found in the books, including the spelling mistakes and the mistakes in authors’ history knowledge.

Deputy Minister of Education and Training--Nguyen Thi Nghia, has admitted that it’s not easy for parents to choose good books for children now.

Under the currently valid Publishing Law, publishing houses don’t have to submit drafts of reference books for censoring, but they must take responsibility for the content of the books.

Dan Tri Publishing House has reportedly been forced to recall and ruin thousands of books after serious mistakes were found in the books. The event showed the low capability of the publishing houses in verifying their publications.

Therefore, Nguyen Tung Lam, a well-known educator, President of the Dinh Tien Hoang people founded school, said parents need to be the smart consumers when choosing books for their children. They should consult with others on the books they are going to buy, or they should only look for the books of prestigious authors.

Meanwhile, Nguyen Thi Hien in Hoang Mai district said that she always seeks information and exchanges views with the mothers on education forums such as webtretho and lamchame before she buys something for the child.

GDVN