In response to a scandal in which publishers defied a ban and showed textbooks still undergoing government screening to teachers, the education ministry is planning to set up official opportunities to allow teachers to see the books while their boards of education decide whether to use them, ministry officials said Tuesday.
The officials said the ministry is considering holding presentation meetings in which publishers would be allowed to disclose the content of textbooks during the "adoption period," in which local boards of education select and adopt textbooks for use in the schools under their jurisdiction.
The adoption period follows the textbook "screening period," during which the ministry bans publishers from disclosing the content. Even during the adoption period, which comes after the textbooks are authorized for use at schools, publishers are currently banned from holding presentation events on their textbook content.