Nghe An Province to Provide Free Textbooks to Over 200,000 Students

The Department of Education and Training of Nghe An Province has completed a needs assessment for more than 1,000 schools and will allocate over VND 80 billion to purchase textbooks for the 2026‑2027 school year. Under Government Decree 271/2026, more than 208,000 priority students – including children of war veterans, orphans, low‑income families, disabled pupils and those in remote mountainous areas – will be able to borrow textbooks free of charge on a loan‑return basis, allowing multiple re‑uses across years.

The policy covers all levels of compulsory education: about 96,500 primary, 81,600 lower secondary and 26,100 upper secondary students, plus roughly 4,400 students in continuing education. The program emphasizes reuse of existing books and inter‑school library transfers before new purchases, aiming to reduce waste and improve public asset efficiency. The highest concentrations of eligible pupils are in mountain communes such as Quỳ Hợp, Tam Hợp and Tam Thái.