Reducing the burden on parents
Ca Mau Provincial People's Committee has just submitted to the Provincial People's Council a draft Resolution regulating the free provision of textbooks for students in the area.
According to the draft, the policy applies to students studying at public and private educational institutions implementing education programs in the province. In addition, the resolution also stipulates the responsibilities of the Department of Education and Training, People's Committees of communes and wards, educational institutions and related units in organizing implementation.
If approved by the Provincial People's Council, Ca Mau will implement the policy earlier than the general roadmap of the whole country. Specifically, in the 2026-2027 school year, textbooks will be free for primary school students; in the 2027-2028 school year, it will be expanded to all secondary school students; in the 2028-2029 school year, it will continue to be applied to all high school students.
According to the Provincial People's Committee, the policy aims to reduce early school year expenses for parents, create conditions for students to have full textbooks to serve their studies, contributing to ensuring fairness in access to education.
This information received the agreement of many parents.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Nhung, in Bac Lieu ward, said that in recent years the State has exempted tuition fees, but every new school year, her family still has to spend many expenses such as textbooks, notebooks, uniforms, insurance and other learning expenses.
If textbooks are provided free of charge, parents will reduce a significant amount of expenses, especially families with two or more children going to school," Ms. Nhung said.
Sharing the same view, Mr. Tran Van Khoi, from Hung Hoi commune, said that free textbooks will help many families reduce financial pressure right at the beginning of the school year.
If the State both exempts tuition fees and supports textbooks, parents will be very excited. This is a practical policy, directly supporting people," Mr. Khoi shared.
It is expected to require more than 93 billion VND per year
According to statistics from the education sector, in the 2026-2027 school year, Ca Mau has about 345,230 students, including nearly 157,670 primary school students, about 125,600 secondary school students, nearly 59,930 high school students and more than 2,000 continuing education students.
It is estimated that if implemented simultaneously for all levels of education, the implementation cost is about 93.163 billion VND per year. Therefore, the province chose a roadmap implementation plan, initially prioritizing primary school students with a cost of about 28.958 billion VND in the 2026-2027 school year; in the following years, it will be expanded to secondary and high school when ensuring budget resources.
The draft also stipulates that the procurement of textbooks is carried out in accordance with the law on bidding, the purchase price does not exceed the cover price and the maximum price is regulated by the Ministry of Education and Training. Based on the number of students and actual needs, the Department of Education and Training will coordinate with the People's Committees of communes and wards to develop procurement plans, ensuring sufficient textbooks to serve teaching and learning in the area.
The policy implementation costs are guaranteed by the state budget according to the current management decentralization, and at the same time, additional sources can be mobilized from the upper-level budget and legal sponsorship and aid sources.
Before submitting to the Provincial People's Council for consideration at the most recent session, the draft resolution has been consulted with departments, branches, localities and educational institutions in the area. According to the Provincial People's Committee, the majority of opinions agreed with the draft content.
