Ministry of Education launches preparation of new textbooks - what are the innovations?
Kyiv • UNN
The state has announced the need for new textbooks to be printed at public expense in 2028. The process will include a mandatory one-year approbation in schools.
The Ministry of Education and Science is launching a two-year cycle of creating new textbooks, announcing the need for textbooks for grades 1 and 5, the Ministry of Education and Science reported on Friday, writes UNN.
What are the stages of the process
"The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine has announced the need for textbooks for grades 1 and 5, which will be printed at the expense of the state budget and used in the educational process in 2028. The announcement of the need is the first stage of the two-year textbook creation cycle," the Ministry of Education and Science indicated.
At this stage, the state determines the list of subjects and integrated courses for which new textbooks need to be created. This means that author teams and publishers can start working on these positions. Next, the textbooks will go through such quality assurance stages as approbation, expert review, and competitive selection. Only after that will they be printed and delivered to educational institutions, the Ministry of Education and Science noted.
How textbooks will be created under the two-year cycle
Textbooks for grades 1 and 5 will be created for the first time under a two-year textbook creation cycle. Previously, the entire process covered one year, although textbooks also underwent approbation, it was limited in time and took place in parallel with other stages of preparation.
Now the process lasts two years and provides for a full annual approbation in schools. This means that textbooks are tested in a real educational process during the academic year, feedback is collected from teachers and students, refined, and only then submitted for comprehensive expert review.
The preparation of textbooks has the following algorithm:
- in 2026, the need is announced and the development of textbooks begins;
- by the end of August 2026, textbooks must receive the UIRO stamp "Approved for use in the educational process during approbation";
- from September 2026, their approbation in schools starts and lasts throughout the academic year;
- in 2027, textbooks are refined by author teams, after which they undergo expert review and competitive selection;
- at the beginning of 2028, printing, translation into national minority languages, and adaptation with enlarged and tactile-dot fonts begin;
- delivery of textbooks to schools is scheduled for the first half of 2028.
"We are moving to a more predictable and systemic model of textbook creation and moving away from a model where textbooks are created in too short a time without sufficient time for full classroom testing and timely delivery to educational institutions, including those where instruction is in national minority languages. For the first time, we are laying down a year of full approbation so that author teams can refine textbooks based on practical use in schools and collected feedback. The new model also provides more time for translation into national minority languages and adaptation of textbooks for children with special educational needs. Our task is for educational institutions to receive high-quality, modern, and tested educational materials in 2028 that help teach and learn," said Kateryna Molodyk, coordinator of educational content development at the NUS Implementation Office at the Ministry of Education and Science.
Textbooks for Grade 1
Textbooks for Grade 1 are created in accordance with the updated State Standard of Primary Education, approved in 2025, as well as the Standard Educational Program, approved in 2026.
The Standard Educational Program for grades 1-4, under which first-graders will begin their studies in 2028, will be uniform for the entire country. At the same time, the Ministry of Education and Science noted, it provides more flexibility for schools and teachers. In particular, it is reported to allow combining different approaches to learning, changing the organization of the educational process according to the needs of students, and using reserve hours of study time.
A novelty of the Standard Educational Program for grades 1-4 is, in particular, "a list of model educational programs that educational institutions will use in the educational process," the Ministry of Education and Science noted. Until now, model programs for primary education have not been developed, so this will be a new experience for author teams.
It is expected that along with the textbook, the author team will also submit an educational program, according to which this textbook was developed, for expert review. After the textbook's approbation, the educational program will acquire the status of a model program and receive the stamp "Recommended by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine." In fact, now each textbook will correspond to one model program.
Textbooks for Grade 5
The same two-year preparation model will be applied to educational literature for grade 5.
The content of these textbooks, in addition to the State Standard of Basic Secondary Education and the corresponding Standard Educational Program, is also based on the concepts of educational fields, created within the framework of the "Education for Life" policy.
These concepts define the logic of learning, expected results, and connections between different subjects, as well as outline approaches to forming competencies and practical application of knowledge in real situations.