When administrative boundaries change, how should teachers change their lessons?

The new school year 2025-2026 takes place in the context of the 2-level local government model and new administrative boundaries nationwide coming into operation. This change will more or less affect the knowledge taught at the secondary level. The work of editing and re-compiling knowledge in textbooks for all subjects is being urgently carried out.

Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Van Tung, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Vietnam Education Publishing House, said: The Ministry of Education and Training identified a number of subjects that are directly affected by changes in administrative boundaries, including: History and Geography (grades 4, 5, and 9); Geography (grade 12); History (grade 10); Economic and Legal Education (grade 10).

The curriculum of these subjects will be revised and updated with requirements, knowledge, place names, data, maps, charts and socio -economic information, which will be the basis for revising textbooks.

In the 4th grade textbook series, History and Geography are directly affected by changes in administrative boundaries.

However, the time from July 1 to the beginning of the new school year 2025-2026 is rushed, the Ministry of Education and Training has directed that this school year, students continue to use the current curriculum and textbooks. Schools and teachers need to proactively select and adjust teaching materials, lessons, and topics to suit local realities and the two-level local government model.

The Ministry of Education and Training determines that the revision of the subject curriculum will be carried out according to the principle of minimizing changes to textbooks. Publishers, including the Vietnam Education Publishing House, will be guided to revise the content in a way that ensures the stability of the books.

To implement that policy, the Vietnam Education Publishing House directed editorial boards, manuscript organizing units, and coordinated with textbook authors to review all subject content.

In early July 2025, the Vietnam Education Publishing House sent a report to the Ministry of Education and Training on the results of reviewing the contents that need to be adjusted and updated in textbooks according to the policy of administrative boundaries and the two-level local government organization model.

Vietnam Education Publishing House will carry out the adjustment and update of textbooks in accordance with the prescribed procedures and instructions of the Ministry of Education and Training. The principle of textbook revision is to closely follow the Ministry's instructions, minimizing changes in content to ensure the stability of textbooks.

According to the latest announcement from the Ministry of Education and Training, the History and Geography curriculum will be revised the most.

Specifically, the History subject (grade 10) revised the content on the State and law of Vietnam in history, belonging to the selected study topic.

Geography (grade 12), History and Geography (grades 4, 5, 8, 9) revise knowledge about socio-economic regions such as regional boundaries; names and number of provinces and cities; area and population of regions; resources, economic development situation and sector distribution in socio-economic regions; administrative maps; population maps; maps of sectors and economic regions in Vietnam.

Economic and Legal Education (grade 10) revised topics: Political system of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

Regarding local education, based on practice and the framework program, the Ministry requires provinces and cities to proactively select and develop appropriate content.

Parents take their children to buy textbooks before the new school year.

The Ministry of Education and Training also emphasized that the revision of the curriculum is necessary to ensure scientific and practicality, when the country reduces from 63 to 34 provinces and cities and applies two-level local government from July 1. The Ministry is consulting with the Departments on the above plan, requesting comments to be sent before August 8. This will be the legal basis for considering revising textbooks to suit reality.

The Publishing House's leaders added that the 2025-2026 school year is the second year that all classes at all levels will implement the new general education program, with a stable list of basic textbooks selected.

According to the plan, the Vietnam Education Publishing House will complete printing and supply about 160.8 million textbooks before August 15, of which 2-3% of output will be reserved for use in case of unexpected events, natural disasters, storms and floods, etc.

Up to now, Vietnam Education Publishing House has completed printing, books have been and are being sent to distribution facilities and companies in provinces and cities. Thus, the printing of textbooks has been completed 15 days ahead of schedule.

With the goal of not letting students lack textbooks, for many years, Vietnam Education Publishing House has always actively carried out social and charitable activities and considered sharing and supporting the community as the responsibility of the unit. Every year, Vietnam Education Publishing House organizes activities to donate textbooks and scholarships to students in difficult circumstances, children of war invalids and martyrs, students in flood-affected areas; support books and equipment for school libraries, community libraries, etc. in many diverse and rich forms. In 2024 alone, the amount of money spent on social and charitable activities is 31 billion VND.

Minh Khoi

Source: https://vtcnews.vn/thay-doi-dia-gioi-hanh-chinh-giao-vien-can-thay-doi-bai-day-ra-sao-ar958421.html