A teacher explains national security knowledge to elementary school students in at a school in Tongchuan district, Southwest China's Sichuan Province on April 14, 2026. Photo: VCG

As April 15, 2026 marks the 11th National Security Education Day, the Department of National Textbook (National Textbook Committee Office) under the Ministry of Education (MOE), along with relevant central authorities, has recently been jointly published and distributed a national security-focused reading book for elementary and middle school students, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Tuesday. 

The reading book consists of four volumes: two for elementary school students, one for junior high school students, and one for senior high school students, according to Xinhua. 

Specifically, one of the elementary school volumes introduces basic knowledge of national security, while the other features selected case studies related to national security. The junior high school volume combines case-based introductions with explanatory content to guide students toward a deeper understanding of the holistic national security concept and to build a basic awareness of security across different fields. 

The senior high school volume aims to help students understand the importance of national security to national development and strengthening their confidence and determination to safeguard it.  

The reading book serves as an authoritative textbook for conducting national security education and systematically studying the holistic national security concept in elementary and middle schools as well as secondary vocational schools nationwide, Xinhua said.  

Together with the already published national security education reading book for college students, it achieves effective continuity across all stages of education, from elementary school to university, providing solid support for advancing the integrated development of national security education, the report added. 

This book series, in essence, serve as a tool for delivering the content of national security education, Chu Zhaohui, a research fellow at the National Institute of Education Sciences, told the Global Times on Tuesday. 

"What is more important is to foster a shared understanding among the public: to view personal security and national security as closely linked, and to recognize the close connection between the two," Chu said.

In October 2020, the MOE issued guidelines for national security education in elementary, secondary, and higher education institutions, proposing the requirement to incorporate national security education into the national education system.

The document provides guidance for schools at all levels to carry out national security education in a systematic, standardized, and scientific manner, according to the website of the MOE. 

Safeguarding national security is not confined to a particular moment or issue, and it must begin from an early age, closely linking the protection of national security with the protection of individuals' own interests, Li Wei, a researcher and security expert at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, told the Global Times on Tuesday. 

"Therefore, it is essential to bring national security education into classrooms and textbooks, so that the concept of safeguarding national security takes root in children's minds from an early age," Li said.