Using a single set of textbooks: Advantages in teaching and learning.
Starting next school year, all schools nationwide will use a single set of textbooks titled "Connecting Knowledge and Life." Besides facilitating usage, this is also an important step towards achieving the goal of providing free textbooks to all students by 2030.
The new textbooks will not disrupt teaching and learning.
The policy is to use a single set of equipment.textbookto concretize Resolution No. 71 of the Politburo on breakthroughs in education and training development. and Government Resolution No. 281/NQ-CP.
According to the guidelines outlined in these Resolutions, from the 2026-2027 school year, Vietnam will use a single set of textbooks nationwide, and by 2030, the goal of providing free textbooks to all students will be achieved. 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.
Immediately following this policy, on December 26, 2025, the Ministry of Education and Training issued Decision No. 3588/QD-BGDĐT on the selection of a set of general education textbooks for unified use nationwide. According to this decision, the set of textbooks...Connecting knowledge with life.The textbooks published by Vietnam Education Publishing House will be used from the 2026-2027 school year.
Previously, since the implementation of the 2018 General Education Program, there have been three sets of textbooks being used by localities nationwide: the "Wings of the Kite" series, the "Creative Horizons" series, and the "Connecting Knowledge with Life" series.
According to the Ministry of Education and Training, the "Connecting Knowledge with Life" textbook series was chosen because it is a superior series that ensures comprehensive and synchronized coverage of all subjects and educational activities across all three levels of education; its scientific and pedagogical quality has been affirmed through practice and is widely used in many provinces and cities. The series also has the advantage of stability, the ability to revise, and the highest level of readiness, minimizing the impact on teachers, students, and parents.
In Nghe An, the "Connecting Knowledge with Life" textbook series is also quite familiar to teachers and students. Mr. Cao Xuan Hung, Principal of Dien Thanh Primary School in Dien Chau commune, said: "I believe the decision of the Ministry of Education and Training is the best solution currently available and facilitates schools in organizing teaching and learning. At our school, besides the Vietnamese language subject using the 'Wings of the Kite' textbook series from grades 1 to 5, all other subjects are using the 'Connecting Knowledge with Life' series. From the next school year, when a single textbook series is unified, there will be some initial impact on the school, but not much."
I believe that this summer, after training and familiarizing themselves with the new textbooks, Vietnamese language teachers will find them easy to adapt to, because although each textbook has a different approach, they all share the common goal of developing students' qualities and abilities.
Teacher Cao Xuan Hung - Principal of Dien Thanh Primary School, Dien Chau Commune
Suitable for all ages
Throughout the province, Mr. Nguyen Hong Hoa, Head of the Primary Education Department of the Department of Education and Training, stated that, in addition to English and Vietnamese, over 90% of primary schools are using the "Connecting Knowledge with Life" textbook series. Prior to this, after more than five years of implementing the 2018 General Education Program, teaching and learning using this textbook series has become familiar, facilitating access and use for teachers, students, schools, and parents.
“Since the implementation of the new program, the Education sector has organized annual training sessions for teachers to familiarize themselves with the methods and structure of lessons and share experiences in the teaching process. The textbook selection process was also carried out according to the correct procedures, with input from teachers. Therefore, the fact that most schools in Nghe An chose the same set of textbooks as the one recently selected by the Ministry of Education and Training shows many advantages and suitability to the teaching practices at the grassroots level,” Mr. Nguyen Hong Hoa added.
At the lower and upper secondary levels, schools have long used three different sets of textbooks interchangeably. However, the "Connecting Knowledge and Life" textbook series remains the dominant one in schools, accounting for over 80% in urban and lowland areas, and approximately 70% in mountainous communes.
Mr. Nguyen Tien Dung, Head of the Secondary Education Department of the Department of Education and Training, stated: "The new general education program is built on an open approach, and regardless of the textbook used, it must still ensure the core mandatory content. Through the implementation process, each textbook has its own strengths, developed by different groups of authors, approaching the program from different angles, and suitable for different student groups and schools."
After switching to a single set of textbooks, although some subjects have to get used to the "new books," the content and usability remain unchanged. Furthermore, teachers can still use the old textbooks as reference materials.
Mr. Nguyen Tien Dung - Head of Secondary Education Department, Department of Education and Training
In schools, even though the new standardized textbooks will be implemented next academic year, teachers are already mentally prepared for the change.
Teacher Bui Van Tuong, a science teacher at Thanh Luong Secondary School, said: "I teach two subjects: Biology and Chemistry. For grades 6 and 7, I use the 'Connecting Knowledge with Life' textbook series. Meanwhile, for grades 8 and 9, we use the 'Natural Science' textbook from the 'Creative Horizons' series. In terms of content, I find the textbooks quite similar, so teachers don't have difficulty preparing lesson plans, and students don't have difficulty accessing the material. However, to use them more effectively, I hope the Ministry will make adjustments in the future, increasing the amount of data so that students can absorb the lessons more easily."
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According to feedback from many teachers and schools, using a single set of textbooks offers numerous advantages. Furthermore, it contributes to improving the efficiency of state management of educational materials, reduces the financial burden of textbooks for the public, and supports teachers and students in accessing consistent and interconnected learning content from grade 1 to grade 12.
Before officially implementing the new curriculum in the 2026-2027 school year, teachers hope that the Ministry will conduct a comprehensive study and evaluation of its advantages and disadvantages. Based on this, a complete set of textbooks should be developed that is suitable for all students and schools, reflects the realities of different regions, and is effectively applied in teaching and knowledge transfer.
