The Ministry of Education announced public debates on the conception of the digital textbook that provides for the introduction of digital textbooks in the pre-university education system in two stages: experimental implementation and implementation at national level. Each of the stages will last for at least four years, IPN reports.

Under the conception, the textbook rental will cover both the costs of designing the digital textbook and of compiling the printed textbook. The document contains a questionnaire where 63% of the teachers and 72% of the students already have experience in using digital textbooks. “More than half of the respondents said they are for gradually replacing the traditional texts by digital textbooks and for using only such textbooks in the future,” says the document.

The digital textbooks will be identical with the printed textbooks and will have the same content. Furthermore, they will have specific elements such as interactive exercises, animation, video sequences, pictures and simulations.

The digital textbooks will be distributed to teachers and students free of charge on a particular static memory device, but will be also accessible online. During the first two years, the Ministry of Education wil select a low number of schools that will meet the requirements regarding digital infrastructure for using digital textbooks. At request, more education institutions will be included in the project if the students and teachers  want to use digital textbooks.