Ho Chi Minh City will distribute free textbooks to disadvantaged students across all grade levels and offer free textbook loans to all students in need for the 2026-2027 school year, with an estimated total budget of VND288 billion (US$7.8 million).
Ho Chi Minh City will provide free textbooks to 100 percent of disadvantaged students across all grade levels, alongside free textbook loans for all students in need during the 2026-2027 academic year, according to information released by the Department of Education and Training on the afternoon of August 18. The total estimated funding for the initiative is US$7.8 million.
Under this plan, educational institutions will organize registration for free textbook loans prior to the start of the new school year, ensuring that books are properly distributed to the correct recipients while implementing a return plan at the end of the academic year.
Students eligible for free textbook loans include general education students and learners at public and private educational institutions implementing educational programs issued by the Ministry of Education and Training.
The Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City has requested that the heads of educational facilities continue reviewing student requests for textbook loans, ensuring that 100 percent of students in need receive books in accordance with regulations.
Separately, disadvantaged students across all grade levels will be granted free textbooks for the 2026-2027 school year.
Previously, between July 15 and July 19, 2026, all schools within Ho Chi Minh City conducted surveys among parents of students from grade 1 to grade 12 regarding their demand for textbook loans for the 2026-2027 academic year.
According to the plan, starting from the 2027-2028 academic year onward, at the beginning of each school year, the city budget will subsidize 5 percent of the total volume of textbooks currently in use to replace books damaged during the previous school year.
