A year of many policy decisions and major changes in education.

Breakthroughs in educational institution building

The Ministry of Education and Training assesses 2025 as a breakthrough year for educational institution building, with the largest number of laws, resolutions, decrees, and circulars issued in a single year ever.

Một năm nhiều quyết sách, thay đổi lớn của giáo dục - Ảnh 1. — Resolution No. 71 on breakthroughs in education and training development affirms that education and training is a decisive factor in the future of the nation.

On August 22, the Politburo issued Resolution No. 71 on breakthroughs in education and training development, the first resolution of the Party affirming that education and training is a decisive factor in the future of the nation and a key driving force for the country's breakthrough development.

2025 is considered a breakthrough year for educational institution building, with 99 laws, resolutions, decrees, and circulars being issued or submitted for promulgation. For the first time in a single year, four draft laws in the field of education and training were passed by the National Assembly , including: the Law on Teachers; the Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Education; the Law on Higher Education (amended); and the Law on Vocational Education (amended).

Also in this year, the National Assembly issued four particularly important resolutions on education and training, including: a Resolution on universal preschool education for children aged 3-5; a Resolution on tuition fee exemption and support for preschool children, primary and secondary school students, and learners in general education programs in educational institutions within the national education system; a Resolution on some specific and outstanding mechanisms and policies to achieve breakthroughs in education and training development; and a Resolution on the investment policy for the National Target Program on modernization and improvement of the quality of education and training in the period 2026-2035.

Advanced education continues to be promoted and has achieved many results.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Education and Training, in 2025, Vietnam had 7 delegations with 37 students participating in international and regional Olympic competitions. The results showed that all contestants won awards, including 13 gold medals, 16 silver medals, and 8 bronze medals, an increase of 1 gold medal and 1 silver medal compared to 2024, and the highest number in many years.

Tuition fees are waived, and the General Secretary's directive ends "additional fees."

The year 2025 marks the official adoption by the National Assembly of a Resolution on tuition fee exemption for preschool and primary school students, stipulating that: students attending public schools will be completely exempt from tuition fees, and students attending private schools will receive tuition fee support from the State equivalent to the public school tuition fee.

This is considered a major step forward in public policy. In less than a year, from the time the policy idea was initiated by General Secretary To Lam at the National Assembly session at the end of 2024, to the Politburo issuing the policy guidelines and the National Assembly passing the Resolution, this policy has become a reality.

Dr. Nguyen Si Dung, former Deputy Head of the National Assembly Office, commented: "This is unprecedented speed for a policy with nationwide application, impacting nearly 20 million students and tens of millions of households… With this policy, we are not only waiving tuition fees but also unleashing the potential of millions of students. We are giving hope to poor families, sowing the best seeds for tomorrow."

Along with the tuition fee waiver policy, in December, General Secretary To Lam's remarks during a meeting with Hanoi voters resonated with many parents in the capital and other major cities. He pointed out that: "The state waives tuition fees, but schools are partnering with companies to bring in outsiders to teach foreign languages, AI, music, physical education, etc., and then collect fees, forcing children to pay an extra few million dong." The General Secretary instructed: "Schools cannot be turned into service establishments," and requested that localities review and rectify this phenomenon. Public opinion awaits the conclusion that the tuition fee waiver policy will no longer be diminished in meaning and humanity by these "additional fees" or "voluntary contributions."

The highest teacher salary will be legalized.

In June 2025, the "highest salary for teachers in the administrative and public service salary scale system" was stipulated in Article 23 of the Law on Teachers. Thus, after many decades, this policy has been legalized for the first time, creating confidence for millions of teachers.

Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son stated that in order to implement the Law on Teachers, which will take effect on January 1, 2026, the Ministry is currently developing a Decree stipulating salary policies and allowances for teachers. According to the draft Decree, teachers are expected to receive an additional special salary coefficient alongside their current salary and allowance benefits.

In addition to salaries and allowances, teachers also benefit from support, attraction, and recognition policies. According to the Minister, these policies, along with regulations on professional standards, appointment of teacher positions, recruitment, employment, honoring, and rewarding teachers, will be comprehensive solutions to help teachers feel secure in their work, focus on their professional activities, and create motivation for them to continuously improve their skills and develop their careers.

Completing the reform cycle, returning to a unified set of textbooks.

The year 2025 marks the completion of a full cycle of implementing the general education curriculum and textbooks from grades 1 to 12. The Ministry of Education and Training acknowledges: "The 2018 general education curriculum has many distinctive, 'non-traditional' elements, requiring strong adaptation, shifting from knowledge transmission to the development of students' qualities and competencies. For the first time, multiple sets of textbooks are being implemented, and textbooks, instead of being 'mandatory,' are being transformed from 'knowledge packages' into open learning materials, helping teachers guide students in developing their competencies."

Concluding the first cycle of "textbook replacement," in the final days of 2025, the Ministry of Education and Training announced the decision to select one set of textbooks for nationwide use starting from the 2026-2027 school year and providing them free of charge to all students by 2030, in accordance with Resolution 71-NQ/TW of the Politburo and the National Assembly's Resolution on some specific and superior mechanisms and policies to achieve breakthroughs in education and training development.

Despite reverting to a single set of textbooks, the Ministry of Education and Training affirms: "This does not mean rigid, formulaic teaching. The general education curriculum is the legal framework; textbooks are the basic learning materials; teachers are the ones who decide how to organize teaching. The content of the high school graduation exam will not adhere to the textbooks but will be conducted as in the 2025 exam when multiple sets of textbooks are available."

The first exam under the new program.

The 2025 high school graduation exam is considered very special because it is the first exam for students following the 2018 general education program, while still ensuring the exam process for students taking the 2006 general education program.

This is the largest exam ever held, with over 1.1 million candidates registering, an increase of nearly 100,000 compared to 2024. The exam is being held amidst a restructuring of the inspection system at all levels. While the exam organization is handled by three levels of local government, the grading and announcement of results are carried out by two levels of local government.

This is also the first year of implementing the new regulations for the high school graduation exam, with many new provisions such as reducing the number of compulsory subjects; reducing the weight of academic transcript scores; eliminating bonus points for vocational certificates; prohibiting the conversion of foreign language certificate scores; and for the first time, transporting exam papers through the cryptographic system...

Although the exam organization was considered successful, there is still debate and concern about the uneven difficulty level across subjects, with some subjects like mathematics and English having "too difficult" content.

Declare a fierce "war" on widespread private tutoring.

In February 2025, Circular 29, regulating tutoring and supplementary classes, came into effect, along with strong affirmations from the Ministry of Education and Training, sending a message of decisive war against a long-standing and pressing issue in education.

According to regulations, schools and teachers are prohibited from charging fees for extra tutoring from their own students, and from providing extra tutoring to elementary school students, whether inside or outside the school. Schools are only allowed to provide free extra tutoring for gifted students, remedial classes for underperforming students, or for final-year students preparing for exams.

Speaking to Thanh Nien newspaper, Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son affirmed: "The Ministry continues to maintain the view that 'extra tutoring may help consolidate knowledge, but it brings little value to human development.' The profound consequences of widespread extra tutoring demand continued and decisive rectification."

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/mot-nam-nhieu-quyet-sach-thay-doi-lon-cua-giao-duc-185251230190319167.htm