b) The contents and appearance of the materials must be conformable with Vietnam's culture, history, geography, morals, fine customs and traditions; be scientific, aesthetic and practical for the local preschool education programs; assurance of Children's Rights;

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d) The terminologies, concepts, definitions, events and pictures must be accurate, objective and consistent; the pictures, events and data must have specific references;

dd) The design of materials must be balanced and harmonious; the systems of symbols, fonts, font sizes, pictures, photos, maps and drawings must be appropriate for the education contents and the law of Vietnam.

2. Requirements for learning materials for children shall comply with applicable regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training on selection of toys and learning materials for use in preschool education institutions.

Chapter II

MATERIAL DRAFTING, APPRAISAL, APPROVAL

Article 4. Material drafting

1. Standards for drafting organizations and individuals

a) Drafting organizations shall be established in accordance with the law of Vietnam, licensed for management, business or operation in the field of education; have drafting staff that satisfies the requirements specified in Point b Clause 1 of this Article;

b) Drafting individuals shall have at least bachelor's degrees in disciplines that are appropriate for the materials being drafted; have at least 5 years' experience in the disciplines that are appropriate for the contents of the material; be acquainted with preschool education; have a highly developed moral sense.

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a) Materials shall be drafted in accordance with regulations of the Law on Publishing and the Law on Intellectual Property;

b) Drafting organizations and individuals shall comply with regulations of Article 3 of this Circular.

Article 5. Organization and operation of material appraisal council

1. Material appraisal council

a) The central material appraisal council (hereinafter referred to as "Council") shall be established by the Minister of Education and Training; local material appraisal councils shall be established by Directors of Departments of Education and Training;

b) A Council shall consists of scientists, educators, education managers who have experience and reputation in education, and representatives of relevant organizations; at least 02 members shall be teachers who are caring for and teaching children at preschool education institutions. The number of members of a Council shall be an odd number and not smaller than 7;

c) A Council shall have a President, Secretary and Members.

2. Council members shall

a) Have a highly developed moral sense; have enough time and good health to participate in the appraisal of materials;

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c) People who participate in the drafting of the materials being appraised must not participate in the Council.

3. Duties and entitlements of Council members

a) The President of the Council shall be responsible to the head of the authority that issues the decision on establishment of the Council and organize the implementation of the Council's working plans; assign duties to Council members; take appropriate actions and report to competent authorities the situations that occur during the appraisal process; exercise other rights and perform other duties according to Point c Clause 4 of this Article;

b) The Secretary of the Council shall assist the President preparing the Council's working agendas and contents; take minutes of meetings that contain all comments of the Council's members; perform other duties according to Point c Clause 4 of this Article;

c) The members of the Council shall attend all meetings of the Council; submit written comments and take responsibility for such comments during the appraisal process. The member who cannot attend a meeting shall submit a report and written comment to the President at least ½ day (half a day) before the meeting time; perform other duties assigned by the President.

4. Working principles of the Council

a) The Council shall work on the principles of democratic centralism, objectivity and honesty;

b) A meeting of the Council is considered valid when it is attended by at least 75% of the members, including the President and Secretary;

c) The result of each meeting shall be made into a written record which shall contain all comments of the members and is disclosed at the Council. The record shall bear signatures of all members that attend the meeting;

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Article 6. Appraisal documentation

1. The written request for appraisal of materials of the organization or individual.

2. Prototypes of the materials to be appraised.

3. Reports on the process of drafting and experiment (if any).

4. Résumé of the authors.

5. Legal certification of the drafting organization.

Article 7. Appraisal procedures

1. Within 15 days before the first meeting of the Council, the materials shall be sent by the appraising unit to the members, who shall give their comments and assessments according to Article 4 of this Circular.

2. Assessment and classification of materials

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a) Materials shall be generally assessed and classified as "Passed", "Adjustment required" and "Failed";

b) A material will be classified as "Passed" if all of the requirements specified in Article 3 of this Circular are satisfied;

c) A material will be classified as "Adjustment required" if the requirements of this Circular are "passed" or "passed but adjustments are required". Depending on the quality of adjustments, the President of the Council shall decide whether to confirm that the adjustments are accepted by the Council or seek opinions from the Council members in an appropriate manner;

d) In other cases, the material shall be classified as "Failed".

3. The Council's meeting and discussion for assessment and classification of materials

Pursuant to Article 3 of this Circular, the Council shall hold meetings and discussions to assess and classify materials as follows:

a) A material will be classified as "Passed" if it is assessed as "Passed" by 75% of the members;

b) A material will be classified as "Adjustments required" if it is assessed as "Passed" and "Adjustments required" by at least 75% of the members, or assessed as "Adjustments required" by at least 75% of the members;

c) In other cases, a material shall be classified as "Failed".

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4. Preparation by the appraising unit

a) Propose the list of members of the Council;

b) Prepare facilities and funds serving operation of the Council;

c) Receive drafts and send them the members of the Council; receive documents, reports, proposals and recommendations of the Council and submit them to the head of the authority that issued the decision on establishment of the Council for consideration and decision.

d) Submit materials to competent authorities for approval and use in preschool education institutions.

dd) Retain documents and minutes of meetings of the Council and relevant documents as per regulations.

Article 8. Approving materials

1. Powers to approve materials

a) The Minister of Education and Training is entitled to approve instructional materials for managers and teachers who run preschool education programs;

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2. An application for approval of materials shall contain:

a) The written request for approval prepared by the appraising unit;

b) The materials that are classified as "Passed"; for materials classified as "Adjustments required", the adjusted materials, explanatory reports and the Council President's confirmation that the materials have been adjusted as requested by the Council;

c) The Decision on establishment of the Council;

d) Minutes of meetings of the Council;

dd) Description of the appraised materials, including: names of authors, editors, co-editors, editor-in-chief (if any), purposes, scope of use and intended users; structure; contents; process; experiment result (if any); other relevant information.

Chapter III

SELECTION OF MATERIALS FOR USE IN PRESCHOOL EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS

Article 9. Rules for selection of materials

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2. Ensure the feasibility, understandability and practicality in improvement of quality of care and education of children.

3. Ensure transparency and conformity with law.

4. Materials shall be drafted in accordance with Article 3 and Article 4 of this Circular.

5. Materials for preschool teachers and manager shall be appraised and approved by competent authorities; learning materials that are publications for children shall comply with applicable regulations on selection of toys and learning materials for use in preschool education institutions.

Article 10. Council for selection of materials for use in preschool education institutions

1. The Council for selection of materials for use in the preschool education institution (hereinafter referred to as "Material Selection Council") shall be established by the head of the preschool education institution and have the responsibility to select appropriate materials for effective implementation of the preschool education program.

2. A Material Selection Council shall have a head or deputy of the preschool education institution, subject coordinators, representatives of teachers of groups/classes. Members of the Material Selection Council shall have at least college degrees in pedagogy and at least 5 years' experience of preschool education. The number of members of a Council shall be an odd number and not smaller than 7. If the preschool education institution has fewer than 5 classes/groups, the minimum number of Council members shall be 5.

3. The Material Selection Council has the responsibility to select and propose materials to be used in the preschool education institution in accordance with this Circular.

4. Members of the Material Selection Council shall be responsible for their comments and assessment of the selected materials.

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Article 11. Procedures for selection of materials

1. On the basis of the requirements and rules for material selection specified in this Circular, the school year plan, activities including care and education of children, the preschool education institution shall review existing materials, seek opinions from teachers and managers of the institution, and compile a list of proposed materials. The list of proposed materials shall bear the signatures of the subject coordinators and teachers of classes/groups. On the basis of the list of proposed materials, the head of the preschool education institution shall organize the Material Selection Council.

2. The Material Selection Council shall organize meetings and discussions to assess the appropriateness of the proposal and the selected materials. The list must be approved by at least 75% of the Council members. The meeting minutes must bear signatures of all participating members of the Material Selection Council.

3. On the basis of the proposal of the Material Selection Council, the head of the preschool education institution shall approve the list of materials used in the preschool education institution; develop a purchase plan and propose it to the superior supervisory bodies, or encourage investment from the private sector.

Chapter IV

RESPONSIBILITIES OF ORGANIZATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS

Article 12. The Ministry of Education and Training

1. The Preschool Education Department shall organize appraisals and request leaders of the Ministry of Education and Training to consider approving instructional materials for preschool teachers and managers who run preschool education programs and other materials at the request of the Minister.

2. Provide guidelines; organize supervision and inspection of the drafting, appraisal, approval and selection of materials for use in preschool education institutions.

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1. Organize the appraisal and approval of local educational materials and instructional materials for managers and teachers who run preschool education programs in preschool education institutions in their provinces/cities.

2. Provide guidelines; organize supervision and inspection of the drafting, appraisal, approval and selection of materials for use in preschool education institutions regarding preschool education institutions, organizations and individuals under their jurisdiction.

3. Take actions against violations against regulations of this Circular by preschool education institutions, organizations and individuals.

4. Prepare and submit reports to the Ministry of Education and Training via Preschool Education Department on the appraisal and approval of materials (integrate them with school year objective reports).

Article 14. Divisions of Education and Training

1. Provide guidelines; organize supervision and inspection of the implementation of this Circular by organizations and preschool education institutions under their jurisdiction.

2. Suspend the use of materials at preschool education institutions under their jurisdiction that violate the regulations of this Circular; report to competent authorities for prompt actions.

3. Take actions against violations against regulations of this Circular by preschool education institutions, organizations and individuals.

4. Prepare and submit reports to the Department of Education and Training on the use of materials by preschool education institutions under their jurisdiction.

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1. Organize the selection of materials, submit reports to competent authorities in accordance with this Circular; submit reports to the Division of Education and Training on the result of material selection, take responsibility to the regulatory bodies, parents/guardians of children for such selection.

2. Managers, teachers, employees of preschool education institutions shall effectively use the materials selected for implementation of the preschool education program in order to improve the effectiveness of care and education of children

3. Provide adequate information about the selected materials for the children's parents/guardians.

Article 16. Heads of preschool education institutions

1. Take responsibility to the regulatory bodies, parents/guardians of children for the selection of materials used in their preschool education institutions.

2. Submit reports to superior supervisory bodies on the selection of materials, annual material purchase plans, and the use of these materials in their institutions.

3. Inspect the use of materials; collect feedbacks from the teachers, parents and guardians of children in order to take timely measures.

4. Disclose the selected materials being used in their institutions to the teachers, employees, parents and guardians of children.

Article 17. Publishers

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Chapter V

IMPLEMENTATION CLAUSES

Article 18. Effect

This Circular comes into force from December 21^st 2021.

Article 19. Responsibility for implementation

Directors of Departments of Education and Training; Heads of Divisions of Education and Training; heads of preschool education institutions; Directors of Publishers; relevant organizations and individuals are responsible for the implementation of this Circular./.