At the Ho Chi Minh City office of Vietnam Education Publishing House, or VEPH, at 231 Nguyen Van Cu Street in Cho Quan Ward, many parents continued to arrive during the workday in search of books for their children.
Nhu Y, a resident of Binh Hung Commune, said he used his lunch break to look for a Grade 6 English textbook and a full set of workbooks.
"Although I did not have to queue as I did on previous occasions, I could buy only six of the 14 books I needed," he said. "For the Grade 6 English textbook, only Volume 2 was available."
Publishing house staff told him that additional textbooks were not expected until the following week and advised him to try a nearby bookstore at 231 Nguyen Van Cu Street.
There, he managed to find just one more title, leaving him seven books short.
"The school year has already begun, but parents still have to travel from one bookstore to another without being able to buy everything their children need," he said. "I hope supplies are replenished soon, particularly Grade 6 English textbooks and workbooks."
Similar shortages were reported elsewhere in the city.
At Thang Long Bookstore in Thanh My Tay Ward, workbooks for Mathematics and Vietnamese for Grades 1, 2, and 3 were unavailable.
Thanh Lan, whose child is in Grade 3, said the homeroom teacher only informed parents of the required workbooks after the school year had begun.
"I have already checked five bookstores but still have not been able to buy all the workbooks my child needs," she said.
In Go Vap Ward, parents have spent days searching bookstores along Le Duc Tho and Nguyen Oanh streets, often without finding complete textbook and workbook sets.
One parent whose child attends Kim Dong Primary School said the family had registered to buy textbooks through the school, but the payment was refunded on September 9 because no books were available.
"Parents in the class Zalo group constantly share information about where books can still be found or ask others to buy copies for them," the parent said. "But as of this morning, September 15, my child was still missing two books."
A VEPH representative in Ho Chi Minh City said the Ministry of Education and Training had held an online meeting with education departments in all 34 provinces and cities, as well as the publisher, to review shortages.
Ho Chi Minh City was among the localities still facing supply gaps, although shortages were concentrated in certain subjects.
After reviewing outstanding demand, VEPH said it would redistribute and replenish missing titles in Ho Chi Minh City and several neighboring provinces and cities from September 15 to 17.
Parents and students can purchase textbooks through VEPH's distribution network or through schools, the publisher said.
