“There is a serious content problem in our textbooks”.
Minister of Science and Education Emin Amrullayev said this in an interview with elchi, Trend, and Khazar TV.
“It should be taken into account that we print more than 300 textbooks in different languages, and it is important to clarify what we mean when we talk about ‘errors’. Textbooks are, in a sense, prepared in a short time. Previously, this period was even shorter. Now, this process sometimes takes 2-3 years. In the past, someone would be tasked within 6 months to prepare a textbook that hundreds of thousands of children would use. Was there a possibility of errors in that textbook? Of course. Now the process is different. A textbook is written, then sent to general education institutions for a one-year trial. Later, feedback is collected from teachers and students, and the textbook is revised. After that, it is sent to relevant institutions, i.e., sectoral organizations. Experts from the State Examination Center also provide their feedback. Most importantly, all textbooks are open to the public. That is, before a textbook is printed, Azerbaijani citizens can see it, read it, and provide feedback. Therefore, my second argument is that if people who care about textbooks find those errors before printing, it would be beneficial for both the children and us. However, if someone finds a typo while drinking tea after the textbook is printed and presents it as the biggest problem of Azerbaijani education, I do not consider it significant. There have always been typos in textbooks. I think there will continue to be. Also, we are talking about very vague numbers. When we say ‘error’, how many errors are we talking about? To me, mathematically, it is very important to know how many pages of textbooks are printed and how many of them have errors. But if you ask me if there is a problem with the textbooks? Yes, there are serious problems in our textbooks. In the sense that we have a major content problem. That is, we should sit down and debate whether physics, chemistry, and biology are suitable for the future generation. Even though it is not the function of the position I hold, I can also be a critic. If a topic is completely missing from a textbook, that is a serious problem. If a topic is redundant, that is also a serious problem. Should we cover this many topics? Maybe we should cover fewer topics? Maybe we should cover different topics? Maybe we should include new scientific achievements in Azerbaijani history, Azerbaijani language, chemistry, or biology textbooks? I have not seen this type of critical position in the media or public discussions. If I did, I would be very happy,” the minister emphasized.
It should be noted that the interview will be broadcast today at 20:00 on the APA Information Agency, Trend Information Agency, and Khazar TV channel.