A teacher at a public high school in a mountainous district of Hoa Binh province said that at the end of each year, she gives out coupons for students to register to buy books and school supplies. Many students are in difficult circumstances, and their parents work far away and have not sent money back yet, so she has to advance money to buy for their children. She does it because of her duty, for the students; she does not know about discounts and extras, and is not accepted.

“The superiors said that the discount is all calculated on transportation. A set of books costs about 500,000 VND, the transportation cost from Hanoi to Hoa Binh is only 10,000 - 15,000 VND. But if the distribution fee is only 11%, it is equivalent to 55,000 VND/set, which is too much for transportation. If multiplied by a thousand students, the surplus is very large,” said this teacher.

Another female teacher in Lang Son that we know also said that she did not receive a discount percentage but the work was extremely heavy. When the books arrived, she worked as a “porter” carrying the books for the students. After delivering the books to the students, she became the person who collected the students’ debts. In addition to textbooks, the teachers had to “force” the students to buy more reference books and review books because the Department of Education suggested and gave “commands” in meetings. If they did not comply, she and the school would be harshly criticized. After discussing like that, the next day, she called back to report that the school was deducted 4%, for both textbooks and reference books - a modest figure compared to the 11% - 35% discount that Tien Phong reporters received when they first started playing the role of book sellers.

Many teachers in other rural and mountainous areas that we talked to complained and felt guilty towards their students and parents when they had to be reluctant booksellers. To cope, regarding textbooks, a school in Hoa Binh used the school fund to buy back books from students in previous classes at 50-70% of the price to resell to students in the following classes at the same price. Regarding reference books, teachers also had to find ways to circumvent the problem, letting only a few students buy them, avoiding leaving the list blank. Some teachers were more perceptive, not buying through the school, through the department, through the education department, but going to the bookstore on the district street to buy, because the discount was higher, then selling them at a discount to students. “Buying books through the school, through the department or the education department will be more concentrated, save effort, and may be cheaper because of buying in bulk. But if there were discounts to give more discounts to the children or to pay the teachers, that would be great,” a teacher told us.

At the beginning of each school year, the issue of textbooks, reference books, school supplies and contributions weighs heavily on the shoulders of parents, especially those in remote and disadvantaged areas. Concluding the regular Government meeting on the morning of August 5, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh asked the Ministry of Education and Training to prepare well for the new school year and not to increase textbook prices at this time.

Granted, despite its specificity, textbooks are still a product that must be circulated with commissions according to market rules. However, if that discount is not a secret agreement but is transparent, reduced, and the distribution is more modern and convenient, the price of books can be reduced, reducing the burden on parents and students. The educational environment will therefore also be more standard and beautiful.