Local authorities and education agencies are scrambling to implement both immediate and long-term measures to ensure teaching and learning can proceed smoothly.
Teacher shortages persist across grade levels
Several Mekong Delta localities are facing severe teacher shortages. In Ca Mau Province, the Department of Education and Training said the province would be short about 1,309 teachers in the 2026-2027 school year based on staffing norms set by the Ministry of Education and Training.
The shortage spans all grade levels, with high schools facing the largest gap of 439 teachers, followed by primary schools with 392, preschools with 251, and lower secondary schools with 227.
Mr. Nguyen Van Nguyen, Director of the Department of Education and Training of Ca Mau Province, attributed the shortage primarily to continued growth in student enrollment. The implementation of the 2018 General Education Curriculum has also increased demand for teachers in certain subjects, while recruitment remains difficult due to a limited pool of applicants.
In addition, Ca Mau is required to cut about 1,000 public-sector education positions in 2026 under instructions from higher authorities, further exacerbating the staffing shortage.
Localized textbook shortages amid surging demand
Parents are also struggling to secure textbooks and school supplies ahead of the new academic year.
Nguyen Thi Thuy Duy, a resident of An Xuyen Ward, Ca Mau, said she had spent the past week visiting bookstores across the provincial center in search of a complete set of sixth-grade textbooks for her daughter, but to no avail.
Some bookstores lacked Art textbooks, while others were short of History and Geography books, she said, warning that prolonged shortages could disrupt students' learning.
A bookstore employee on Ngo Quyen Street in An Xuyen Ward said most textbook sets from grades 1 to 9 were missing certain titles. For example, fourth- and fifth-grade sets lacked History and Geography books, while eighth-grade sets were short of History and Geography, first-volume Mathematics, and English textbooks and workbooks. Ninth-grade sets lacked first-volume Mathematics, Experiential Activities, and History and Geography books.
In Dong Thap Province, Tien Giang School Books and Equipment JSC said it had released more than four million copies for the 2026-2027 school year. However, surging demand has caused temporary shortages of some titles, particularly workbooks, supplementary materials, and English-language books.
A review found that the localized shortages were driven by a spike in demand rather than insufficient supply. The company has asked publishers to replenish missing titles and quantities to prevent disruptions to teaching and learning.
At Tan An Hoi Lower Secondary School in Vinh Long Province, Principal Nguyen Tan Lap said the school had proactively helped parents and students contact multiple suppliers. It has placed orders for more than 100 titles based on students' registrations, while continuing to seek sources for workbooks and supplementary materials.
Meanwhile, Ca Mau's education sector is coordinating with local authorities to redistribute teachers among schools. As an immediate measure, teachers will be assigned to teach across schools and grade levels in understaffed subjects, with priority given to compulsory subjects, graduating classes, and disadvantaged areas.
The department has also proposed allowing schools to hire teachers on employment contracts for vacant positions to ensure that no class is left without a teacher.
