Vietnam faces shortage of nearly 4 million textbooks

Vietnam's Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) has acknowledged a localized shortage of approximately 3.9 million textbooks, representing about 1.5% of the total demand for the 2026-2027 school year. This shortage occurs during the first year of implementing a unified national textbook set, ‘Ket noi tri thuc voi cuoc song’.

MOET identified several contributing factors, including administrative restructuring, changes in local school networks, and shifts in student demand. The Vietnam Education Publishing House (VEPH) stated that its supply chain is heavily dependent on accurate data from local authorities. VEPH noted that as a state-owned enterprise, it cannot unilaterally overprint books due to strict regulations regarding capital management and the risk of excess inventory.

To address the shortage, MOET has directed VEPH to prioritize the supply of books to boarding schools, remote areas, and disadvantaged students. VEPH is currently transferring 8 million books between regions and plans to print an additional 17.13 million copies through October. In the interim, students and teachers are encouraged to use free digital textbooks available on the ‘Hanh trang so’ platform to ensure learning continuity.