Vietnam's Single Textbook Policy from 2026-2027: What It Means for University-Bound Students
By Muntasir • Published Aug 06, 2026 • Updated Sep 20, 2026 • Education News & Policy, Study in Southeast Asia
Vietnam moves to one nationwide textbook set from the 2026-2027 school year, replacing the three competing series schools have used since 2018. The Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) picked "Connecting Knowledge with Life" for every grade, and free textbooks for all students are targeted by 2030.
📩 MOET named the set on December 26, 2025 under Decision No. 3588/QĐ-BGDĐT, carrying out the framework set by Government Resolution No. 281/NQ-CP (September 15, 2025)
The chosen set covers primary, lower secondary, and upper secondary
It replaces "Creative Horizons" and "Kite", the two other series schools used before
National exams for university entry stay based on the shared curriculum, not on any one textbook
⏱️ Full rollout across all grades lands by the 2026-2027 school year
What MOET decided
Vietnam's Ministry of Education and Training will use a single nationwide textbook series from the 2026-2027 school year, ending the multi-textbook system that ran since the 2018 curriculum reform. MOET named "Connecting Knowledge with Life" as the unified nationwide textbook on December 26, 2025, under Decision No. 3588/QĐ-BGDĐT, carrying out the framework set by Government Resolution No. 281/NQ-CP, issued September 15, 2025, which itself implements the Politburo's Resolution 71-NQ/TW, according to the Vietnam Government Portal .
Since 2018, schools chose from three approved series under a "one curriculum, many textbooks" model: "Connecting Knowledge with Life", "Creative Horizons", and "Kite". Different schools in the same district sometimes used different sets, which made it harder for transferring students and for families comparing revision materials. That variation ends with the 2026-2027 rollout.
Why MOET picked "Connecting Knowledge with Life"
MOET evaluated the three series against a standardized set of criteria rather than commissioning a new one. Building a fresh series from scratch would have needed two to three years and a large pool of authors and subject experts, a timeline the ministry judged impractical for a 2026-2027 start, VietNamNet reports .
"Connecting Knowledge with Life", published by Vietnam Education Publishing House, was already the most widely used of the three series, active across all 34 provinces and cities after Vietnam's 2025 provincial mergers. MOET says its content and teaching quality were validated through years of classroom use. From 2026-2027 it becomes the only approved set across all subjects and school activities, from primary through upper secondary.
What else changes alongside the switch
The reform bundles in more than the textbooks. MOET is increasing instructional time for science, technology, informatics, and arts subjects, and strengthening English as the country's designated second language. The ministry is also drafting policies to attract and retain high-performing teachers as part of the same breakthrough education push.
Free textbooks for every student nationwide are targeted for 2030, with printed copies rolling out first and digital versions to follow, per the government portal's reporting. Provinces are expected to phase in free distribution ahead of that date as budgets allow.
What it means if you are heading toward university entrance
Vietnam's national high school graduation exam, the main basis for university admission, tests the shared national curriculum rather than any single textbook's wording or example set. That has held true since the 2018 reform introduced multiple textbook options, so a single textbook set does not change what the exam covers.
What it does simplify is your revision material. Students, tutors, and test-prep centers no longer need to track which of three series a given school used before recommending workbooks or past papers. If you are transferring schools or provinces mid-programme, you also avoid the old friction of switching textbook series partway through a subject.
Expect the changeover to run grade by grade as MOET finalizes printing and distribution, with full coverage in place by the 2026-2027 school year. Watch MOET's official site for the grade-by-grade rollout schedule and any updates to the free-textbook timeline.