The Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) has decided to launch inspections into the printing and distribution of textbooks for the 2018-2019 academic year.

Students often have to buy new textbooks for the new school year as they often write answers directly in the books. — Photo tienphong.vn

Many argue that the use of textbooks currently is a great waste as students often write their answers directly in the books, resulting in the fact that the books cannot be reused.

In response to questions raised by journalists about the scarcity of textbooks, leaders from the Việt Nam Education Publishing House said more than 100 million copies of textbooks for the 2018-2019 academic year had been printed as of August 8, an increase of 3 per cent compared with last year.

However, due to the sudden increase in the number of students in the first grade in some big cities, including Hà Nội, a shortage of books had occurred.

The selection of reference books was decided by head teachers depending on the socio-economic condition of each locality, and the ministry had urged them not to allow students to write answers directly in the books, Nguyễn Hữu Độ, deputy minister of Education and Training, said at a monthly government press conference in August. — VNS