As the new school year begins in Vietnam, some students are starting classes without textbooks. Parents have been seen traveling dozens of kilometers in the scorching heat and visiting bookstores late into the night in search of their children's books. Despite expectations that the nationwide single textbook system would simplify demand forecasting, delays in regional procurement, late orders from schools, and controversies over reselling have led to a textbook shortage, causing chaos in the education sector.
According to local media, including VnExpress, parents in Ho Chi Minh City have been flocking to bookstores in search of textbooks for the 2026-2027 school year. On September 5, over 2.6 million students in Ho Chi Minh City attended the opening ceremony, but many textbooks for certain grades and subjects were still hard to find the following day.
A parent with a ninth-grade child, identified as A, visited Phuong Nam bookstore on Nguyen An Tu Street on the morning of September 6. After traveling to another bookstore 20 kilometers away, he was unable to find five textbooks, including history and geography. A expressed frustration, saying, "I checked several places, but they all said new books would arrive next week. The new school year has already started, and there are no books available."
Another parent, B, also visited four bookstores that morning but could not find six textbooks, including those for ninth-grade experiential activities. He had placed an order through the school but did not receive the necessary books. B lamented, "I plan to visit a few more places tonight. It seems I will have to find at least one book from each store to make it work."
In the past two weeks, the Vietnam Education Publishing House bookstore has seen about 3,000 visitors daily. On September 6, parents and students crowded the store from early morning until late afternoon. Some parents reported visiting nearly ten bookstores but still could not purchase all the required books for their children.
The textbook shortage in Ho Chi Minh City is mirrored in other regions. In Gia Lai Province, demand surged ahead of the new school year, with some parents leaving their contact information at bookstores a month in advance, only to find that books sold out within an hour of arrival.
In Can Tho, parents continued to search for textbooks late into the night on September 6, just before the first day of classes. In Da Nang, parents reported visiting four to five bookstores the day before school started but still could not gather all the necessary books. One high school in Da Nang resorted to copying and binding materials to distribute to students due to delays in textbook supply.
Textbook Hunt Continues Until the Day Before School Starts
The textbook shortage is not limited to specific grades. The Vietnam Education Publishing House announced that textbooks for fourth-grade history and geography, fifth-grade history and geography, and second-grade Vietnamese and math would not be available until after September 20. Some bookstores have provided internet links for parents, teachers, and students to access free PDF e-books while waiting for physical copies.
As the shortage persists, concerns about reselling have emerged. The Vietnam Education Publishing House reported that some individuals have been buying textbooks and reselling them to parents at three to four times the original price. In response, bookstores are limiting the number of textbook sets one person can purchase during peak demand periods.
However, the publishing house maintains that the overall print volume was not insufficient. They stated that they had already published 228 million textbooks and 84 million workbooks and reference books, exceeding initial orders by more than 150%. Additionally, they supplied about 2.5 million extra books from September 1 to 6 to address late orders from schools and replenish shortages.
The issue lies in the timing of orders from schools, which has led to significant discrepancies in actual receipt times. A representative from the publishing house noted that schools that completed their purchase registrations before August 14 received the necessary books, while those that applied later would receive them sequentially, with deliveries expected by mid-September.
The publishing house cited differences in administrative schedules across regions as a reason for the supply issues. Each area implementing the free textbook policy has different planning, budget approval, procurement procedures, and distribution timelines, leading to fluctuating demand. To meet actual demand, the publishing house plans to print an additional 17 million textbooks and workbooks in September. The remaining stock will be reserved for natural disasters like typhoons and floods, textbook donation requests, and fluctuations in student numbers across regions.
Schools are implementing temporary measures to prevent gaps in instruction. One high school is using digital materials to ensure students learn the same content. Another elementary school has instructed students to work in groups to share textbooks and is using projectors to display lesson materials so that students can follow along.
Frustrated Parents: 'Why Can't We Get the Books?'
As the school year approaches, parents who have been unable to find textbooks are expressing their frustration. With classes starting soon, they are struggling to find the necessary books, and relying on PDFs or photocopies is becoming increasingly difficult. One parent shared, "I still haven't bought my sixth grader's textbooks. School starts tomorrow, and I have no books. This has never happened before." Another user commented, "With a single type of textbook used nationwide, shouldn't it be easier to predict demand and print? Why do parents have to travel dozens of kilometers in the heat to find books?"
Many find it hard to understand why there is a shortage of textbooks when student numbers are known in advance. One commenter asked, "Student numbers by grade are recorded every year; why are there shortages? Even if they print a little more, the books can be used next year, right?" Another parent recounted their experience trying to find a ninth-grade textbook, stating, "I visited five or six bookstores but couldn't find it. How can kids prepare for class the night before without any books?"
Calls for accountability from schools and authorities have also surfaced. One user criticized, "The school knows the number of students; they say parents didn't order enough books." Another parent noted, "I started buying in June, and I still haven't received all the books for my second grader."
Some parents find it even more perplexing that a shortage has occurred under the single textbook system. One user remarked, "In the past, there were multiple textbooks, and competition made it hard to print enough, but now we only use one set. If there are extras, they can be used next year, so I don't understand why they printed so few and created a shortage."
Meanwhile, starting from the 2026-2027 school year, a single textbook system will be implemented across Vietnam. While there were hopes that this would simplify demand forecasting compared to the previous system with multiple textbooks, parents in Ho Chi Minh City continue to face challenges in finding textbooks as the school year begins.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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