Senior Lieutenant General Le Quoc Hung, Deputy Minister of Public Security, made the statement on Sept. 28 while meeting voters in Ho Chi Minh City alongside members of the city’s National Assembly delegation from Constituency No. 9.

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Senior Lieutenant General Le Quoc Hung, Deputy Minister of Public Security, responds to voters’ concerns. Photo: Phuoc Sang

The meeting brought together voters from the wards of Thanh My Tay, Binh Quoi, An Khanh, Binh Loi Trung, Binh Thanh, Gia Dinh, An Hoi Tay, An Hoi Dong, Thong Tay Hoi, An Nhon, Go Vap and Hanh Thong.

At the meeting, voter Tran Lam Dich from An Hoi Dong Ward voiced support for the policy of adopting a single unified set of textbooks for Vietnam’s general education curriculum.

However, he said that during the 2026-2027 school year, several localities, including Ho Chi Minh City, had experienced shortages or delays in the supply of certain textbooks. Although the problem was subsequently resolved, it still caused concern among parents just before the new school year began.

Dich called on authorities to determine the causes of the shortages across the entire supply chain, from demand forecasting, printing and publishing to distribution, transportation and coordination among agencies.

He also urged authorities to clearly define responsibilities at each stage and establish mechanisms for oversight and early warnings.

In addition, he said the results of inspections should be made public and any hoarding or price gouging should be strictly dealt with. Authorities should also establish mechanisms to ensure a stable supply and prepare contingency plans.

Responding to voters’ concerns, Hung said the education sector had been “caught off guard in textbook printing this year for a number of reasons.”

He stressed that the problem was not a prolonged shortage but one that occurred only during a certain period.

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Deputy Minister of Public Security Le Quoc Hung says the causes of the textbook shortages will be made public and the responsibility of relevant organizations and individuals clarified. Photo: Phuoc Sang

Textbooks had been made available online for free download, he said, but many parents and students still had limited ability to access them in this format and therefore continued to need printed copies.

Hung said the General Secretary, President, Prime Minister and other senior leaders had paid close attention to the issue and had repeatedly worked with relevant agencies, particularly the Ministry of Education and Training.

Government leaders had set a deadline requiring relevant agencies to “ensure sufficient textbooks are supplied to students within 10 days,” he said.

Addressing the causes of the shortages and accountability, Hung said: “The causes of the textbook shortage will be investigated, clarified and made public. We will also determine where responsibility lies and which organizations and individuals are accountable.”

At the same meeting, voter Nguyen Viet Hung from An Khanh Ward raised concerns over long-delayed plans for a secondary and high school project in the area, saying the prolonged planning restrictions had prevented residents from building or renovating their homes.

He called on authorities to clearly announce whether the plan would proceed or be scrapped, while urging more decisive action in addressing voters’ petitions.

Deputy Minister Le Quoc Hung said the matter fell under the jurisdiction of grassroots-level authorities. The National Assembly delegation would categorize the petition, forward it to the local administration and monitor its handling before reporting back to voters at the next meeting.

For issues falling under the city’s jurisdiction, he asked the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee to assign relevant agencies to address them according to the principle of clearly defining “who is responsible, what needs to be done, the timeline, accountability, results and concrete deliverables.”

Phuoc Sang