At noon on August 18, at a bookstore on National Highway 50 (Binh Hung commune), Ms. Dang Thi Long Diep still could not buy enough textbooks for her children, even though this was the third bookstore she had visited this afternoon.
Ms. Diep said she will continue to go to many other stores to find enough books before her children return to school. Currently, she needs to buy 1 set of 6th grade books and 2 sets of 10th grade books.
Before coming here, my older sister also looked for books in the Vung Tau area but did not have them, so she asked me in this area to help buy them. I have been to many places but still haven't found enough" - Ms. Diep shared.
For 6th grade students, she has only bought some books such as Technology, Fine Arts, Informatics, Physical Education, Math Volume 2, Literature Volume 2. Many volume 1 books are still not available. Books for 10th grade students are also lacking many titles.
According to Ms. Diep, even important subjects are lacking, especially volume 1 books. Therefore, instead of buying a full set at one place, she must buy whatever good book she can, and then continue to find the missing books at other stores.
Now, I have to continue searching. There are small bookstores that have a few books that large bookstores do not have, so I have to go to each place" - Ms. Diep said.
Similarly, Phan Nguyen Ngoc Diep, a 12th grade student, went to the bookstore with her father but only bought 3 books.
The missing list includes Math Volume 1, Volume 2, Physics, Chemistry, Literature Volume 1, Volume 2, English and some specialized books.
I will continue to search. My friends also complain about book shortages" - Ngoc Diep said.
According to the female student, the school sent a list of books to buy from last week. However, when going to buy, many books are not available. Some students have to order online but the price may be higher.
Ms. Phuong, bookstore manager, said that the book shortage has lasted for about 2-3 weeks, from the beginning of August.
In general, there is a lot of shortage, from all classes. Main and minor subject books are all lacking" - Ms. Phuong said.
According to Ms. Phuong, the number of people coming to buy books is quite large. Many people go to many places, looking for each book, so they are very tired and annoyed.
According to the bookstore manager, the unit contacted the supplier to ask about the time of arrival. Initially, the supplier scheduled a mid-week appointment, then moved it to the weekend. However, by August 18, the time the goods arrived was still uncertain.
Now we have to wait. Parents who need it urgently, I can tell them to go to many places to find it first, if they haven't bought it, then come back next week" - Ms. Phuong said.
From the 2026-2027 school year, students nationwide will use a unified set of textbooks, instead of many sets as before. The Ministry of Education and Training has chosen the "Connecting Knowledge with Life" set of Vietnam Education Publishing House for unified use nationwide.
