The scarcity of textbooks has been observed for nearly one month in various locations including Hue, Da Nang, Dak Lak, Gia Lai, An Giang, and particularly Ho Chi Minh City (TP HCM). This year, the entire country adopted a single textbook series, "Ket noi tri thuc voi cuoc song" (Connecting Knowledge with Life), instead of multiple sets as in previous years. The situation has led to parents queuing up to "hunt" for individual books, a phenomenon that continued even after the start of the academic year. Many school principals and bookstore owners describe this as a rare occurrence in recent decades.
On 10/9, a representative from the Education Publishing House identified three primary reasons contributing to this widespread scarcity.
The first reason is that many localities this year opted not to order textbooks through schools. Additionally, numerous schools were focused on mergers and reorganizing their leadership structures, preventing them from assisting parents with textbook purchases. As of 25/8, TP HCM alone recorded 197 schools affected by this. Many other provinces and cities faced similar situations.
Secondly, some parents delayed purchasing textbooks, anticipating free copies. This behavior prevented distribution companies from accurately assessing actual demand, making them hesitant to stock up on inventory for fear of overstocking. Consequently, this resulted in shortages at retail channels.
Finally, when schools announced that free textbooks were not yet available, parents simultaneously rushed to stores, while schools also urgently sent in supplementary orders. The Education Publishing House faced dual pressure to meet demand from both sides, causing its distribution system stores to become overwhelmed.
"This situation has never occurred in previous academic years", a representative of the publishing house stated.
The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training (So Giao duc va Dao tao TP HCM) announced on the evening of 10/9 that a small number of students still lacked textbooks, though specific figures were not provided. The Department noted that the crowding and long queues were also due to residents from neighboring provinces traveling to TP HCM to search for books. To date, all schools in the area have finalized the quantity of books needed for ordering or supplementary purchases to quickly meet parental demand.
Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister Le Tien Chau commented that the insufficient supply of textbooks highlighted shortcomings in forecasting, ordering, production, stockpiling, and distribution. On 9/9, the Deputy Prime Minister emphasized, "Textbook supply must be managed like an essential, specialized commodity, where profit is not the primary focus. The most important aspects are timely and complete provision at prices strictly controlled by the State."
The Ministry of Education and Training (Bo Giao duc va Dao tao) has urged all parties to collaborate to ensure sufficient textbooks for schools still experiencing shortages before 15/9.
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Parents and students jostle to buy textbooks at Nguyen Tri Phuong Bookstore and School Equipment, TP HCM, on the afternoon of 19/8. Photo: Thanh Tung
Le Nguyen
