HCM CITY (VNS)— Publishing houses and bookstores have allayed concerns of parents and students saying there will be sufficient supply of textbooks at reasonable prices for the new school year (2013-14) beginning next month.
The Viet Nam Educational Publishing House has so far published more than 90 million copies of textbooks for students nationwide.
They are being sold at stores run by the publishing house as well as other companies at the same price across provinces and cities nationwide, said Nguyen Minh Khang, deputy general director of the company.
The HCM City Books and Educational Equipment Joint Stock Company said it has received nearly 5.1 million textbook copies for distribution in the city.
As of now, the company has supplied nearly 90 per cent of textbooks to schools in the city. Just 500,000-600,000 copies are left at its stores.
The company has called for a promotion programme that offers discounts of 10-12 per cent at all stores over the next two weeks, Khang said.
Other bookstores are also offering discounts for textbooks and learning devices.
Bookstores of the HCM City Book Distribution Corporation and the Phuong Nam Corporation have been offering 5-10 per cent discounts on textbooks since June.
For ethnic minority students and students in disadvantaged areas, the Government has launched several support programmes including one that will provide them with VND70,000 (US$3.3) each per month for nine months every year to buy textbooks, notebooks and learning devices.
The Ministry of Education and Training has carried out a programme since 2008 to collect old textbooks in order to gift them to poor students.
Under this programme, the company has gifted textbooks as well as learning and teaching aids to school libraries in disadvantaged areas, Khang said.
Other organisations and many schools in the country have also collected old textbooks to be given to poor students.
According to the Viet Nam Educational Publishing House, 40 per cent of the students in the country currently use old textbooks and 10 per cent borrow textbooks from school libraries. — VNS
Đăng ký: VietNam News
