Students nationwide will need new textbooks to get ready for the next school year, which will begin in September. — Photos thanhnien.vn

HÀ NỘI — Teacher training on new textbooks has been completed nationwide before the start of the 2026-27 school year in September, when students across the country will use a single, standardised set of textbooks published by Vietnam Education Publishing House (VEPH) for the first time.

Preparations are also complete for the distribution of textbooks for the new academic year.

Deputy General Director of VEPH Ngô Văn Hoan said the publisher began preparations immediately after the Ministry of Education and Training issued a decision approving the new unified textbook series nationwide.

More than 19 million students in Việt Nam are expected to begin the new academic year in September.

VEPH has launched open bidding for the distribution of more than 200 million textbooks covering all subjects and grade levels, including elective materials.

As of July 20, more than 99 per cent of the textbooks had been printed and delivered to warehouses, while over 85.2 per cent had already been distributed to localities.

The publisher is also printing additional reserve textbooks to meet demand arising from natural disasters, flooding and population changes, ensuring an adequate supply across the country.

"Before August 15, all students nationwide will have access to textbooks and workbooks, meeting the demand," Hoan said.

Đặng Thanh Hải, another deputy general director of VEPH, said teacher training for the unified textbook series is progressing on schedule and will be completed by the end of July.

Training for each subject and grade is being conducted in two rounds, one in June and another in July, allowing teachers to participate at a convenient time, he said.

Hải noted that the Connecting Knowledge with Life textbook series has already become the most widely used in recent years. The number of teachers who need to familiarise themselves with the textbooks as an entirely new set of teaching materials is thus much smaller than previously believed.

He said over the past several years, regardless of which textbook series they used, teachers have conducted instruction and assessed students' learning outcomes based on the 2018 General Education Curriculum. The current training is therefore not intended to change teachers' instructional approach, but rather to help them use the textbook series more effectively in line with the curriculum's requirements.

Hai said this year's training sessions are being led primarily by the chief editors, editors and authors of the textbooks. This gives participating teachers the opportunity to interact directly with the textbook developers and gain a better understanding of the educational philosophy, objectives, structure and pedagogical design of the books, as well as individual lessons.

Rather than just introducing the books' content, trainers devote much of the sessions to addressing educators' questions and practical challenges encountered in teaching the new curriculum and textbook series, he said.

A member of staff at the publishing house printing textbooks for the new school year.

Beyond in-person and online training, teachers have free access to digital training materials, electronic teaching resources, demonstration videos and other instructional materials through VEPH's online platform.

Professional support will extend beyond the online training sessions through digital teaching resources and ongoing professional support channels, working with teachers as they use the unified textbooks in their classrooms.

Textbook prices reduced

Hải said VEPH has cut production and distribution costs to further reduce textbook prices, easing the financial burden on parents and students.

Textbook prices for grades 1 through 12 during the 2026-27 academic year have been reduced by an average of 13.3 per cent compared with the previous school year.

The publisher also supports students and schools in disadvantaged areas through annual textbook assistance programmes.

Meanwhile, VEPH is expanding its digital education ecosystem by providing free electronic versions of all textbooks, teachers' guides, teaching manuals, sample lesson videos and training presentations on its official online platform.

In the future, the platform will be further integrated with multimedia learning resources, including videos, audio materials and interactive exercises, to support innovative teaching methods and help students review lessons and assess their own learning progress.

Hải said adopting a unified textbook series nationwide will not alter the reform objectives of the 2018 General Education Curriculum. 

He added that the high-quality Connecting Knowledge with Life series, which has already been widely used and well received by schools, teachers, parents and students, will contribute to the successful implementation of the Politburo’s Resolution 71 on education breakthroughs. — VNS