Busy searching for books
Ms. Dang Van Lam (Thanh Xuan ward, Hanoi) has two children in grades 3 and 6. This year, the family cannot buy a full set of books from the school, so she has to find and buy them outside. It was thought that just visiting a few bookstores could complete it, but the reality is very different.
Three bookstores were successively found, but the number of books to buy was still short. At the fourth bookstore, she just gathered enough sets for her child to study in 3rd grade. And her child's 6th grade books are still not enough at this time.
Ms. Pham Thi Hong Hanh (Nghia Do ward, Hanoi) with two children in 10th and 11th grade said: "The place I am standing is already the 5th bookstore, but the answer is still lack of books. Almost no textbooks, only homework books but not enough sets".
Not finding books directly, she switched to ordering online. But the book prices online are in some places twice as high as the listed textbook prices.
The story of book shortage not only makes parents with children studying in Hanoi anxious. Ms. Nguyen Thi Quynh Anh was forced to find 5th grade textbooks for her younger brother in Nghe An because the locality is also lacking. However, when she came to the bookstore, she faced empty bookshelves. "Unexpectedly, looking in Hanoi, I also didn't have books to buy" - Ms. Quynh Anh said.
Answering about the phenomenon of local book shortages at some retail stores
As of August 15, Vietnam Education Publishing House and the system of publishing companies have completed the supply of 220 million copies of textbooks and 76 million copies of exercise books and reference books to the market. Compared to the same period in 2025, the output of textbooks reached 148%, and exercise books and reference books reached 119%.
In addition, 8 million copies of textbooks and 2 million copies of homework books are being urgently transferred, preparing to be supplied according to actual needs, ensuring that students do not lack books before the opening day.
Vietnam Education Publishing House said that although the number of printed and supplied books has exceeded many compared to the same period last year, some customers still face difficulties when buying retail books at stores at some times due to some objective reasons.
Many parents have a habit of buying a second set of textbooks to keep in class for their children, helping students not have to carry heavy loads; or want to equip books early so that their children can refer to them before the school year, leading to a sudden increase in demand at retail stores in the period of late July and early August.
In addition, some schools have not ordered books centrally through the distribution units of the Vietnam Education Publishing House to wait for the free policy, causing students not to receive books from the school but to have to buy retail themselves, causing confusion and pressure on the retail system.
Many parents are not updated accurately about the use of textbooks for the new school year, leading to not receiving textbooks with the "Connecting Knowledge with Life" logo.
In addition, some book titles with updated and adjusted content have been notified and updated content has been posted. However, due to not grasping this information, some customers resolutely refused to buy books when they saw that the information in the paper book had not been directly edited and printed.
Book donation programs for school libraries by many philanthropists and social organizations often purchase large quantities of textbooks at retail stores, unintentionally creating temporary scarcity at some points of sale.
In addition, customers may have difficulty finding books at bookstores not belonging to the Vietnam Education Publishing House system (because not every store imports textbooks for sale).
For convenience in equipping, updating and exploiting textbooks, Vietnam Education Publishing House notes that priority should be given to searching for official distribution systems. Use free e-textbooks. Use old textbooks to practice thrift.
Vietnam Education Publishing House will continue to closely follow the actual needs of each locality to coordinate books in a timely manner, ensuring that all students have enough textbooks before entering the new school year.
