On September 17, the Department of Education and Training (GDĐT) of Dak Lak province informed that in the 2026-2027 school year, the whole province has 581,712 students who need to use textbooks (SGK).
In which, primary school level has 271,319 students, secondary school level has 208,499 students and high school level has 101,894 students.
However, by mid-September 2026, Vietnam Education Publishing House will only supply about 6.8 million copies of textbooks, meeting the needs of about 90% of students. Thus, there are still about 10% of students who do not have enough textbooks to serve their studies in the first weeks of the school year.
According to the Department of Education and Training of Dak Lak, the shortage of textbooks stems from many reasons. Some students and parents are waiting to borrow books according to the policy of issuing textbooks to school libraries. Some parents buy books late, so they do not have enough sets, while a part of students in difficult circumstances cannot buy complete textbooks.
To overcome the above situation, the education sector requires schools to effectively exploit and use existing textbooks at libraries; and at the same time proactively coordinate and transfer books between classes, school sites and educational institutions according to the principle of "where there is surplus, there is shortage".
For the remaining book shortage after exploiting existing sources, schools coordinate with suppliers and the Vietnam Education Publishing House to supplement them in a timely manner. The deadline for completing the supply of textbooks is set before September 20, 2026.
In addition, educational institutions are required to publicize the list of textbook distributors in the area so that parents can proactively buy the missing textbooks. Schools must immediately receive and handle feedback related to the situation of textbook shortage; and at the same time take advantage of technology, screens and interactive boards to support students who do not have textbooks.
Ms. Le Thi Thanh Xuan - Director of Dak Lak Department of Education and Training - said that the unit has submitted to the Provincial People's Committee for approval a plan to buy textbooks for educational institutions to organize for students to borrow.
Priority subjects include students from poor and near-poor households, ethnic minority students, disabled students, orphans, students in particularly difficult circumstances and students in border areas, remote and isolated areas.
It is expected that 197,293 students will borrow textbooks, with a total cost of books purchased of more than 41.1 billion VND.
The addition of textbooks is identified by the Dak Lak education sector as a task that needs to be urgently completed, in order to ensure that students have sufficient learning conditions, especially in difficult areas, right from the first weeks of the 2026-2027 school year.
