Son made the commitment at a Q&A session organised by the National Assembly’s Committee for Cultural and Social Affairs on September 20. He focused much of his response on textbook supplies for the 2026-2027 school year, the causes of localised shortages and measures to prevent them from recurring.

According to the minister, in December 2025, the Ministry of Education and Training approved the selection of a unified set of textbooks and instructed the Vietnam Education Publishing House and localities to assess and forecast demand to prepare production and supply plans. The use of a single textbook set was expected to make supply planning easier.

However, several unforeseen factors emerged. Some localities introduced policies to provide free textbooks, prompting some parents to wait before buying them, while some schools did not place orders for sufficient quantities for the publisher to plan production proactively. Demand forecasts by locality and subject were also not sufficiently accurate.

Another factor was the transition from three textbook sets in previous years to a single set this year. In previous years, publishers printed relatively large reserve quantities based on demand estimates, helping prevent shortages but also resulting in significant surpluses.

This year, reserve quantities were set at a lower level. When actual demand in some areas and for some subjects exceeded forecasts, localised shortages emerged. Planning continued to rely largely on quantities reported and ordered by localities, limiting flexibility in adjusting supplies during the distribution process.

Nearly 99.6% of demand met

As of 5pm on September 19, the number of textbooks still needed nationwide had fallen to 908,689 copies, from more than 2.71 million on September 15. With total demand estimated at 245.94 million copies, around 99.63% of demand had been met, leaving about 0.37% still outstanding, mainly involving particular titles and localities.

To address the remaining shortfall, the Ministry of Education and Training has asked localities to review and confirm demand at individual schools and coordinate the transfer of books from areas with available supplies to those facing shortages. Where books cannot be transferred, additional copies will be printed.

By September 19, the Vietnam Education Publishing House had transferred more than 8 million copies between regions and printed more than 10 million additional copies from late August to early September.

The Prime Minister has also asked the Ministry of Education and Training to mobilise all available resources and urgently coordinate, print and supply sufficient textbooks so that students are not left without books. The supply process is to be completed before September 22, with a report on the results.

Education Minister Son said the ministry would seriously learn from the experience and strengthen oversight of planning and demand forecasting.

“This certainly cannot happen next year,” he assured lawmakers.

According to the minister, using a single textbook set makes it easier to determine basic demand, but planning must still include sufficient reserves for students who need to buy additional copies. The ministry will also ask localities to improve demand surveys and establish a supply mechanism with fewer intermediaries, giving schools a greater role in collecting and forwarding demand to suppliers.

The approach is expected to make demand estimates more accurate and reduce the need for parents to search for textbooks themselves when schools do not have sufficient supplies.

Education programme and textbooks to undergo comprehensive review

Alongside measures to improve textbook supplies, Son said the Ministry of Education and Training would conduct a comprehensive review of education programmes and textbooks during the current school year.

According to him, the review will be broader and more in-depth, with the aim of adapting the education programme to the new context, strengthening education in ethics, life skills and social responsibility, and considering reductions in teaching time for subjects and content that are no longer appropriate or practical.

Problematic content in textbooks will also continue to be reviewed and revised.

The minister said the process would involve a substantial amount of work, including developing programmes, selecting experts, establishing review councils, and carrying out revisions and assessments. The Ministry of Education and Training will develop a detailed plan for implementation in the coming period.

Tightening university admissions methods to promote fairness

At the explanation session, Minister Son also reported that the Ministry of Education and Training is considering reducing the number of university admissions methods to ensure that applicants are assessed against more consistent criteria and to limit excessive disparities between different methods.

Under the draft regulations, from 2027, each university major or training programme would be allowed to use a maximum of three admissions methods, while from 2028 the number would be reduced to one, excluding direct admission and admission under a special policy for students from disadvantaged and remote areas. At the institutional level, universities would still be allowed to use up to five admissions methods.

According to the minister, experience in recent years has shown that some universities have used multiple admissions methods and allocated separate quotas to each, resulting in significant differences in admission scores between methods.

Since 2023, the ministry has required universities to establish equivalent scores across different admissions methods. However, allowing each university to develop its own conversion method, particularly when comparing academic records with examination scores, has made it difficult to ensure accuracy and fairness.

The proposed reduction in admissions methods is therefore aimed at improving the reliability of university admissions and creating a more transparent basis for assessing applicants.

Alongside reducing the number of methods, the Ministry of Education and Training is also studying ways to limit mechanisms that could create unreasonable disparities in admissions, while making greater use of data and technology to monitor and analyse admissions results.

Minister Son emphasised that the two core principles of university admissions are accurately assessing students’ abilities and ensuring fairness among applicants.