For the 2026-2027 school year, the Ket noi tri thuc voi cuoc song (Connecting knowledge with life) textbook series will be used uniformly nationwide. Despite the tight timeframe, the titles within this textbook series have been and are being urgently edited, printed, and distributed to serve the new school year.
Books arriving in trickles, parents anxious
Taking advantage of the weekend, Do Van Duong, a resident of Vung Tau Ward in Ho Chi Minh City, brought his two primary school-aged children to Bach Dang Bookstore on Le Loi Street to look for textbooks for the upcoming academic year.
Duong said the family decided to shop early after the children completed their semester exams, hoping to prepare the books in advance by covering them, labeling them, and allowing the children time to gradually familiarize themselves with new lessons.
However, after searching through the store, the family found only two textbooks available — Mathematics and Vietnamese language books printed in 2025.
“In previous years, parents could already buy complete sets of textbooks at this time. This year, I’ve checked many places, but they are still unavailable,” Duong said.
According to a staff member at Bach Dang Bookstore, the facility currently has only a limited selection of primary school titles, primarily in Mathematics and Vietnamese, whereas textbooks for junior high and high school levels are still not available. Textbooks are arriving sporadically, with the complete range of titles anticipated to be available by mid-June. However, it remains uncertain if parents will be able to acquire full sets by that time.
A similar scenario is unfolding at Fahasa Nguyen Hue Bookstore in Saigon Ward. Staff members indicated that the books are arriving inconsistently while some grades can compile complete sets when collected, many other grades still lack certain specific titles.
Le Thi Lan, Deputy Director of Ba Ria - Vung Tau School Books and Equipment Joint Stock Company, stated that the 2025 print edition of the Connecting knowledge with life textbook series remains in stock. Schools and agencies can still import them if needed. However, for the revised editions printed in 2026, the full distribution is not expected until mid-June. The enterprise is waiting to import the newly printed books because the content has been adjusted regarding the merger of administrative units, alongside a reduction in the cover price.
Ministry ensures full supply before the school opening
At the regular Government press conference on May 4, Deputy Minister of Education and Training Pham Ngoc Thuong stated that the ministry has issued an official document guiding localities on the uniform use of the Connecting knowledge with life textbook series, while allowing the utilization of other textbook series as reference materials.
The Ministry of Education and Training has also finalized the revision of textbook content, particularly in History, Geography, and Economic and Legal Education, to update administrative boundary changes following the transition to a two-level local government model. Deputy Minister of Education and Training Pham Ngoc Thuong emphasized that the objective is to ensure the full supply of textbooks to schools and teachers at least 20 days prior to the school opening.
Meanwhile, the Vietnam Education Publishing House committed to providing a full and timely supply of textbooks before the commencement of the new school year. In addition to the newly printed textbook titles in 2026, all textbooks and workbooks printed from 2025 and earlier (except for book titles belonging to the list of textbooks revised and approved in 2026) currently in circulation will continue to be used and reused normally to serve the teaching and learning activities of teachers and students. For certain textbooks with content updated and adjusted according to the new administrative boundaries and socio-economic statistical data, the Vietnam Education Publishing House has conducted reviews, finalized, and published the updated versions in PDF format. Teachers, students, and educational institutions can access, look up, and use the updated textbook versions free of charge at the Vietnam Education Publishing House Training Portal.
In 2026, the Ministry of Education and Training approved 11 revised textbook volumes, including History and Geography for grades 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9; History 10; Advanced History Topics 10; Economic and Legal Education 10; Geography 12; and Advanced Geography Topics 12. The Vietnam Education Publishing House is organizing the printing and distribution of the textbooks in the aforementioned list within 2026. Books of the same titles printed from 2025 and earlier will not continue to be distributed but can still be utilized as reference materials.
