On September 7, thousands of parents from Ho Chi Minh City and neighboring provinces flocked to the Vietnam Education Publishing House to purchase textbooks for their children. Many parents waited in line for nearly two hours, braving the heat to ensure they had the necessary materials for the new school year.

Starting early in the morning, parents began queuing at the publishing house as students returned to school. Nguyen Ngoc Tuan, a father of two, shared his frustration after searching various bookstores in Dong Nai for weeks without success. "My child said, 'I start school tomorrow, but we still don’t have the books. What should I do, Dad?' So, I decided to take a day off work and come to Ho Chi Minh City to find the books," he explained.

After waiting for almost two hours, Tuan managed to buy the complete set of textbooks for his fourth grader, but still lacked three books for his ninth grader. He mentioned that the bookstore promised to have the remaining books available by September 30, and in the meantime, he would have to photocopy materials for his child.

Similarly, Le The Hung and his wife traveled from Tay Ninh to the city, hoping to purchase three sets of textbooks. Upon arrival, they found a long queue but managed to buy two sets after waiting. Hung had to send his wife to rest while he continued to wait in line for the third set.

Many parents from surrounding provinces faced similar challenges, as local bookstores were unable to meet the demand for complete textbook sets. Vu Van Cuong, a worker from Dong Nai, took a day off to find books to send back home to his child. He expressed his concern, noting that his wife had already searched various bookstores in the city without success.

The Vietnam Education Publishing House reported that as of September 3, the supply of textbooks had been significantly impacted due to various logistical challenges. They have issued 228 million textbooks and 84 million workbooks this year, exceeding the initial order by over 150%. From September 1 to 6, they continued to supply approximately 2.5 million textbooks to meet the needs of schools that had placed late orders.

In September, the publishing house plans to increase its supply further, printing an additional 17 million textbooks and workbooks to address actual demand. They are also preparing contingency supplies to mitigate the impact of natural disasters and to support organizations donating textbooks to students in need.

As the school year progresses, parents remain hopeful that the remaining textbooks will be available soon, allowing their children to catch up on their studies.