Approval of a unified national textbook set for use starting from the 2026-2027 school year.

Accordingly, the textbook series "Connecting Knowledge with Life" published by Vietnam Education Publishing House has been selected as the unified national textbook series for general education starting from the 2026-2027 school year.

The necessity of implementing a unified national set of textbooks.

The decision to implement a unified national set of textbooks aims to fulfill Resolution No. 71-NQ/TW dated August 22, 2025, of the Politburo on breakthroughs in education and training development, and Resolution No. 281/NQ-CP dated September 15, 2025, promulgating the Government's Action Program to implement Resolution No. 71-NQ/TW.

Specifically, according to Resolution No. 71-NQ/TW and Resolution No. 281/NQ-CP, from the 2026-2027 school year, Vietnam will use a unified set of textbooks nationwide, and by 2030, will complete the provision of free textbooks to all students. This is a strategic direction aimed at standardizing the content of general education, ensuring equity in access to knowledge, and creating a foundation for digital transformation and building a national learning resource ecosystem.

The decision to use a unified set of textbooks will contribute to improving the efficiency of state management of educational materials, reducing the financial burden of textbooks for the public, creating educational equity, and supporting teachers and students in accessing consistent and interconnected learning content from grade 1 to grade 12. At the same time, this is an important basis for the State to proactively revise and digitize textbooks, develop an open digital learning resource repository, and implement a roadmap for free textbooks for students according to the set goals.

The selection of a unified national set of textbooks must ensure the following principles: meeting the requirements of the 2018 General Education Program; ensuring scientific, pedagogical, and legal validity; continuity; reducing the burden of innovation; saving budget; and minimizing the impact on teachers, students, and society, in accordance with Resolution 71-NQ/TW and Resolution 281/NQ-CP.

Advantages of the "Connecting Knowledge with Life" textbook series.

Based on research into current textbooks and comparison with selection criteria, the Ministry of Education and Training has determined that the "Connecting Knowledge with Life" textbook series fully meets and excels in the following aspects: it ensures complete and synchronized coverage of all subjects and educational activities across all three levels; its scientific and pedagogical quality is affirmed through practical experience and is widely used in all 34 provinces/cities, with the largest student population among current textbook series; it has the highest stability, revisionability, and availability (Vietnam Education Publishing House has sufficient technical capacity, warehousing, and distribution to ensure nationwide supply); and it minimizes the impact on teachers, students, and parents because it is the most stable and widely used textbook series, and teachers are familiar with its methods and lesson structure.

Expected impacts on teachers, students, and society.

For teachers, using a unified set of textbooks nationwide will help reduce fragmentation of learning materials, facilitating teaching and learning. Teachers will have access to the curriculum content according to the same pedagogical design, with consistent lesson structure, terminology, and knowledge and skills standards, thereby reducing the pressure of choosing materials and avoiding discrepancies in lesson approaches between different localities.

Teacher training and professional development are conducted in a more coordinated, cost-effective, and efficient manner thanks to the content being focused on a single set of textbooks. Furthermore, teachers have the opportunity to invest more time in innovating teaching methods, applying technology, organizing assessments, and developing supplementary learning materials.

For students, a unified set of textbooks will help ensure equal access to knowledge for students in all regions, reducing disparities in learning content between localities. Students will learn a continuous stream of knowledge from grade 1 to grade 12, creating a foundation for interconnected and synchronized development of competencies, reducing the risk of knowledge gaps when transferring schools mid-year, especially for students in disadvantaged areas and children of migrant workers.

The roadmap towards free textbooks by 2030 directly benefits students and their families, reducing recurring learning costs. When textbooks are digitized, students can access open learning resources, exercises, videos, and simulations, contributing to increased interest, self-learning ability, and lifelong learning capacity.

For society, standardizing textbooks helps stabilize national educational materials policies, creating trust and social consensus in general education. Social costs for purchasing and replacing textbooks annually are significantly reduced; people, especially in disadvantaged areas, benefit from policies supporting and providing free textbooks.

Local authorities will have an advantage in budget allocation, organizing bidding and book supply, reducing media pressure, and guiding implementation. Standardizing textbooks also serves as a foundation for promoting the digital transformation of learning materials, developing digital libraries and open resource repositories, in line with international trends and the national digital transformation strategy.

The Ministry of Education and Training affirms that it will closely coordinate with localities, educational institutions, teachers, and the entire society to effectively implement the unified national textbook set. The Ministry of Education and Training will continue to listen to and incorporate feedback from the public, experts, and educators to continuously improve learning materials, enhance the quality of teaching and learning, and contribute to the successful implementation of the breakthrough in education and training development in accordance with Resolution 71-NQ/TW.