Parents begin to register and choose to buy textbooks
Implementing Resolution No. 71-NQ/TW of the Politburo on breakthroughs in education and training development and Resolution No. 281/NQ-CP of the Government promulgating the Action Program to implement Resolution No. 71, which states "unifying a common set of textbooks and moving towards 2030 to exempt all textbooks", the Ministry of Education and Training has issued Decision No. 3588/QD-BGDDT selecting the set of books "Connecting Knowledge with Life" for unified use nationwide from the 2026-2027 school year.
In the past week, Ms. Nguyen Thu Ha (Cau Giay ward, Hanoi) received a notice from her homeroom teacher about registering to buy textbooks for the new school year 2026 - 2027. Parents assess that the unification of 1 set of books creates convenience for parents, students and the whole school.
Some parents buy themselves, but I choose to buy at school for peace of mind and convenience" - Ms. Thu Ha said.
Regarding the implementation of the policy of a unified set of textbooks from the 2026-2027 school year, Standing Deputy Minister of Education and Training Pham Ngoc Thuong said that the ministry has guided localities to use this set of textbooks uniformly, and at the same time allowed the exploitation of other sets of textbooks as reference materials. The ministry's point of view is that teaching and learning according to the curriculum, textbooks are only learning materials, so they do not waste other sets of textbooks.
The Ministry has also completed the adjustment of textbook content, especially subjects of History, Geography, and Civic Education, to be consistent with the adjustment of administrative boundaries when transitioning from a 3-level government model to 2 levels.
With the goal of ensuring the full supply of textbooks to schools and teachers no later than 20 days before the opening ceremony, the Deputy Minister said that, up to now, 5/7 regions of Vietnam Education Publishing House have imported and announced average book price reductions of 13.3%.
Teacher training work is carried out in a focused direction, focusing on outstanding contents that need to be answered, avoiding spreading out.
Unifying a set of textbooks does not mean limiting learning resources
To implement the policy of unifying 1 set of textbooks, Dr. Nguyen Tung Lam - Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Association of Educational Psychology, Chairman of the Education Council of Dinh Tien Hoang High School - Ba Dinh (Hanoi) - noted that the curriculum is the core. He believes that, whether it is 1 or more sets of textbooks, the deciding factor lies in the teaching method of teachers and the learning methods of students.
In the learning process, teachers must know how to combine textbooks with many other sources of materials, link lessons with practice, with technology... And students themselves also need to proactively explore and refer to more sources of materials to expand their understanding, instead of just relying on a single book" - Dr. Nguyen Tung Lam assessed.
Deputy Minister of Education and Training Pham Ngoc Thuong said that according to international practice, the education program usually has a life cycle of 10-15 years before making overall changes. However, every year, the ministry still reviews and adjusts the content and professional direction; schools proactively develop education plans based on the common curriculum framework.
In the coming time, the ministry will continue to refine the program according to Resolution 71-NQ/TW, increase the time for science and technology, innovation, STEM, digital transformation, artificial intelligence; and at the same time strengthen life skills, culture, art, ensuring output standards but not causing overload for students.
The Deputy Minister emphasized that the adjustment must be cautious, have impact assessments and mobilize experts, scientists, and teachers to directly participate. The goal is to meet the requirements of training high-quality human resources in the new context, while maintaining the stability of the general education program.
The overarching orientation is to shift from "teaching knowledge" to "teaching skills", innovate teaching methods, tests, assessments and develop self-learning abilities so that students can adapt to different programs, textbooks, and learning materials.
The Deputy Minister affirmed that unifying a common set of textbooks does not mean limiting the source of learning materials. Textbooks are not "mandatory" but are materials for teaching and learning.
Teachers and students can refer to more books, newspapers, the internet and other sources of materials to enrich their knowledge, in line with the orientation of shifting from "teaching knowledge" to "teaching skills", thereby forming qualities and abilities for students.
Average textbook price reduction of 13.3%
Vietnam Education Publishing House said that the unit continues to improve the quality of books, reduce production and circulation costs to reduce textbook prices, creating favorable conditions for parents and students. In the 2026-2027 school year, textbook prices from grades 1 to 12 decreased by an average of 13.3% compared to the previous school year.
