Parents worried
On September 3, according to reporters of Lao Dong Newspaper, at many books, notebooks, and school supplies stalls in Ha Tinh market, many parents came to ask to buy but still did not have enough books and notebooks.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Phuong (35 years old, residing in Ha Huy Tap ward) has 3 children studying in grades 2, 5 and 10. She said that she has gone to buy books in many places but is still short of textbooks on Math and Vietnamese for grade 2; textbooks on Nature and Society, Vietnamese for grade 2; books on Fine Arts, History, Geography for grade 5; Math and Vietnamese exercises for grade 5; books on Physics, Chemistry, History and Geography for grade 10.
“It's the opening of the new school year in a few days. But due to scarcity, I still haven't bought enough books and notebooks for my children. I'm very worried but I don't know what to do,” Ms. Phuong shared.
Similarly, Ms. Le Thi Hoa (39 years old, residing in Tran Phu ward) has 2 children in 5th grade and 8th grade. The child in 5th grade asked the teacher to order early, so they have enough sets of textbooks. Meanwhile, the child in 8th grade is still lacking many homework books.
According to Ms. Hoa, out of a total of 14 8th grade homework books, she has only bought 5 books. She has gone to 3 bookstore locations, including 2 bookstores, but still cannot buy enough.
At Ha Tinh Book Distribution Joint Stock Company (No. 74 Phan Dinh Phung Street, Thanh Sen Ward), many parents also came to buy books and notebooks for their children but did not buy enough due to a shortage of goods.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Huyen (40 years old, residing in Thach Ha commune) needed to buy some more notebooks for her 2 children in 3rd and 8th grade, but they were out of stock here.
According to Ms. Huyen, although she has searched and asked to buy books and notebooks many times, including bookstores in Ha Tinh, she has not bought enough notebooks for her child, so she is very worried.
Lack of textbooks and homework notebooks
Ms. Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc (45 years old), owner of a bookstore in Ha Tinh market, said that she has been selling books and notebooks for nearly 20 years, but this year is the year with the most shortage of books and notebooks.
According to Ms. Ngoc, her stall currently does not have History, Geography textbooks for grades 4, 5 and 8 for sale. In addition, many grade 10 textbooks are also lacking; notebooks for elementary school classes are also scarce.
During the recent September 2nd holiday, many parents also came here to buy books and notebooks, but due to scarcity, they could not buy enough for their children," Ms. Ngoc shared.
Ms. Vo Thi Nguyet - a book seller at Ha Tinh Book Distribution Joint Stock Company - said that there is still a shortage of textbooks and homework notebooks. Among them, the most lacking are History and Geography textbooks in all 3 levels of primary, secondary and high school. Homework notebooks for students from grades 1 to 9 are also lacking.
Ms. Nguyet said that many parents return to Ha Tinh Book Distribution Joint Stock Company to ask to buy books many times but still have no goods. Faced with that situation, she often asks for parents' phone numbers and tells them to call when they have books so they can come to pick them up, avoiding having to spend time and effort traveling many times.
Ms. Tran Thi Thu Ha - Director of Ha Tinh School Equipment and Book Joint Stock Company, one of the units supplying textbooks and workbooks for the 2026 - 2027 school year in the area, said that the company is experiencing a local shortage of some textbooks and workbooks.
According to Ms. Ha, the company has ordered 68,000 textbooks from grades 8 to 12 to supplement and meet the needs of parents and students.
It is expected that at the beginning of next week, these books will arrive in Ha Tinh.
