On September 23, the Government Office announced that it had issued Notice No. 494/TB-VPCP concluding the meeting of Politburo Member, Prime Minister Le Minh Hung at the meeting on the supply of textbooks (textbooks), reviewing the general education program and textbooks, some key issues in the field of education and training (GDĐT) and preparing to serve the thematic supervisory delegation to implement Resolution No. 71-NQ/TW of the Politburo on breakthrough development of GDĐT.
According to the announcement, when entering the new school year, there is still a situation where many students and general education institutions in some localities do not have enough textbooks (by September 20, there was still a shortage of over 776,000 textbooks).
The Prime Minister requested the Ministry of Education and Training to seriously draw experience, immediately take urgent measures, promptly rectify, and ensure the supply of sufficient textbooks in the shortest time; and at the same time not to let the shortage of textbooks recur in the following school years.
The Minister of Education and Training focuses on directing and being directly responsible to the Government and the Prime Minister for applying urgent measures to definitively resolve the shortage of textbooks for the 2026-2027 school year in the shortest time, completing before September 25, 2026.
In which, pay attention to conducting reviews and confirmations to each educational institution and each school to ensure the full supply of textbooks for each student; absolutely do not let the situation of students going to school without textbooks continue, especially in localities that are currently lacking many textbooks such as: Lam Dong, Dong Nai, Ninh Binh, Phu Tho, Khanh Hoa, Can Tho, Dak Lak... In necessary cases, designate capable units to participate in textbook printing.
The Minister of Education and Training directed to seriously review and clarify the responsibilities of relevant organizations, units, and individuals and strictly handle them according to regulations in providing incomplete textbooks to serve students at the beginning of the new school year 2026-2027, and report to the Prime Minister on the situation and results before October 10, 2026.
The Prime Minister also requested not to have too much in-depth knowledge, putting pressure on teaching and learning, which is not really necessary for the general education level (in-depth knowledge for reference and advanced materials of subjects); and at the same time contribute to reducing exam and admission pressure.
Ensure teaching and learning equipment, arrange enough teachers and strive to deploy free textbook supply for all students from the 2028-2029 school year, contributing to facilitating the improvement of teaching and learning quality in accordance with the spirit of Resolution No. 71-NQ/TW.
Regarding ensuring the quality and safety of school meals, the Prime Minister requested to clearly define the responsibilities of the Ministry of Education and Training, relevant agencies, especially local authorities at all levels and educational institutions, to ensure publicity, transparency, and strict control of meal quality; absolutely not to let food safety incidents occur, cut portion sizes, corruption, wastefulness, and negativity.
The Ministry of Finance shall preside over and coordinate with relevant agencies to immediately implement the proposal to competent authorities to exempt corporate income tax for businesses providing meals for educational institutions.
