The cost of going back to school

School expenses are at an all time high, say South African parents. Over and above school fees, which differ from school to school, the costs of uniforms and stationery seem to pinch the pockets of most South Africans.

And if there are two or more school-going children in a household these costs all add up quickly. Stationery for example can include things like plastic book covers, exercise books, glue sticks, coloured markers, pencils, coloured pencils, crayons, play dough, a white board and markers, tissues and metallic-ink coloured pens and the list goes on.

Nicola Ashe, who did the stationery run for her kids this year says she decided to compare prices of the exact items on the list that the school issued across various stores and found that if she bought those items from other stores, she would have saved up to R1000 on stationery alone. Also, schools insist on them buying specific brands and Nicola says she completely disagrees with this. The exact same item, for example a non-branded set of koki markers can be bought for much cheaper from elsewhere than the branded item that schools insist on. 

The price of uniforms is another cause for concern. Diane Msomi says that her child’s uniforms alone cost her up to R5000 a year – and includes both day wear and sports uniforms. She says she has to carefully save every year to make this payment, otherwise she’s left short. And she is not alone in this plight. With schools each having their own branding, one can’t go out to any store and buy a standard shirt and pants or a dress.

Buying similar uniforms to the school supply store for example, from cheaper stores is not an option, parents say. What’s more is that some schools have different uniforms for the different seasons and children are obliged to buy these or face discipline from the school. I have never heard of anything more ridiculous.

One parent told me she paid R459 for a specific, branded calculator that the school demanded for her Grade 9 child last year only to find that she has to get a completely different calculator, also at an exorbitant cost, this year now that her child has moved to Grade 10.

So what is the solution? Should school uniforms be standardised? Should government step in and subsidise stationery? How can we make the economics of going to school a lot better for parents?

You can email Terence Pillay at [email protected],za or follow him on Twitter: @terencepillay1 and tweet him your thoughts.

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