Letters to the Editor: Parents fail to contain back-to-school pressure . . . Boarding schools demand basic commodities

Tanaka Mahanya

Back-to-school season is a hectic time for parents, the January edition is heavier as it comes right after the festive season.

A lot of money would have already been spent during holiday festivities and January brings a reality check for most parents.

Prices of basic commodities which form an important part of the school cost keep going up.

This has seen a lot of parents worrying about whether they will be able to afford this school term.

With costs of most basic commodities going up, it was impossible for tuition fees to remain stable.

This comes at a time when some employees have not received commensurate pay rises from their employers, but are expected to adjust to the living conditions.

Schools now demand more than parents can give.

Basic groceries for a boarding student averages $1 000, which many parents say is too much, so their children will have to survive on dining food.

Worse still, bus fares have increased in the recent past further increasing the burden on the parents.

For both boarding and day scholars, transport costs have become a thorn in the flesh to most parents who fail to raise enough money needed by kombi and bus operators.

Some parents have started borrowing money from financial institutions to ease pressure on the hard hitting economy.

“I had to get a $2 000 loan to buy everything my children need, now I have to pay back in instalments. Will I do the same next term?” says a parent Shuvirai Ruwende.

For families with more than one child, bills multiply.

Even for those who had saved, the money is not enough for everything needed in most schools these days.

Prices of school uniforms, groceries and bus fares have left many parents with children going to form one wondering if they will be able to afford such amounts.

Beyond the exorbitant prices, schools are also requesting parents to buy basic supplies which they used to provide in the past which include in some instances mattresses, tissue paper and groceries.

Also, there are specific types, brands and quantities of supplies required, most of which go beyond parents’ pockets.

While setting the same brand for everyone helps reduce socio-economic differences and bullying between pupils, school authorities have to bear with parents on the hard-pressing economic situation.

Some parents are frustrated by requests for specific items, hitting multiple stores only to find that the exact colour and quality of materials required by certain schools are all sold out.

Some of the stores they force parents to buy from have punitive prices.

For example, some school dresses are tagged from $450 for primary school pupils and a standard satchel for $768.

A neck tie is pegged at $144, a jersey at $696 while stockings are priced $44 a pair.

Boarding schools are also demanding groceries for children to be admitted on their first day.  

Some of the groceries include cooking oil which cost $51 a two litre bottle, rice at $36 per 2kg and sugar at $36 a 2kg packet.

This is not the entire list required and the quantities differ depending on the institution.

Strapped and strained parents are pushing back, but this is to the disadvantage of the children.

In some cases, parents fail to purchase a single item as they fear their money will not be enough to cater for everything else.

Mission boarding fees are ranging from $2 000 to $10 000 which is too much for the already hard pressed parents.

Because they cannot afford to purchase school materials in shops, parents have resorted to buying from informal traders mostly along Leopold Takawira Street.

The prices are no different as they charge almost the same.

Blazers are tagged at $500, which is slightly lower than prices in shops.

Most of them charge in cash, which becomes difficult for parents who would be willing to pay using EcoCash and swipe facilities.

Some schools have not changed their fees, but have suggested parents should buy groceries which last for the whole term.

While the move makes life easy for the school, parents have to strain their pockets further purchasing groceries, which are sometimes sold in United States dollars in various parts of the country. 

A lot of children will face difficulties in going back to school, with some of them being transferred and some dropping out of school.

Government should swiftly act on the issue and make sure that education won’t be something for the affluent alone.

In future, parents should also plan for the new term to avoid such challenges.

Education should remain accessible to all.

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