Parents worried about education expenses in the new year.
High inflation reduces people’s standard of living. Among them, food inflation has been above double digits for months. In this situation, while it is difficult to provide nutritious food to children and adolescents, it has become almost impossible for parents of low and fixed incomes to meet the cost of education materials due to continuous price increases.
They are in a desperate situation to meet the daily needs of daily necessities and the cost of their children’s education. Parents are worried about the increased education expenses in the new year, as the prices of educational materials increase in line with the high prices of food and daily necessities.
Parents said that there has been a huge gap between income and expenditure. They are in trouble over expenses. Added to this is the high cost of educational materials. Children from low-income families are dropping out of school because they cannot afford education expenses. Middle-class families are also worried about the quality of their children’s education while trying to reduce education expenses.
Those concerned said that the price of imported goods depends on the value of the dollar. Again, the issue of rising food or daily necessities prices due to inflation is not discussed in the same way as the issue of rising prices of educational materials. However, the rise in the prices of educational materials and financial constraints may increase school dropouts and child marriages. It will also have a negative impact on the government’s achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDCs). The government must take appropriate initiatives immediately to address this challenge.
Faruk Hossain, a grocery shopkeeper on Northbrook Hall Road in Banglabazar in the capital, told our time that he had spent about 10,000 taka on the education of his three children at the beginning of this year. Now, for the new year’s admission, the cost of three children will be 30,000 taka from application to admission. In addition, school uniforms, shoes, bags, notebooks, pens, etc. are needed. The money required for three children is not available for this. After paying his house rent with the income from the shop, he can meet any family expenses. Then, if he wants to spend extra money in a month, he will have to spend the shop invoice (investment capital). Or he will have to take a loan, he said, expressing helplessness.
According to Faruk Hossain, the cost of each school dress he made for the children last year was three to three and a half thousand taka. In the new year, it will be five thousand. Since the school bag is old, he has decided to buy two bags for two. He has advised the eldest daughter to go to school with the old bag for now. He will need three to four thousand taka to buy two bags for his two children, which he spent one and a half to two thousand taka last year. Similarly, the price of shoes has also increased more than twice. Stating that he has to buy two pairs of shoes a year, Faruk Hossain said that this time it costs one and a half thousand to two thousand taka to buy a pair of ordinary white sneakers. Last year, he bought each pair of shoes for eight hundred to one thousand taka.
In addition to books, notebooks and pens, there are many essential materials for education. Pencils, sharpeners, erasers, markers, staplers, pins, clips, office files, calculators, pen boxes, steel and plastic scales, colored pencils, scissors, Ikea, clipboards used in exams, etc. Apart from this, students have to make photocopies for various needs. Now they have to spend three to five taka per page for photocopying. It costs 5-10 taka per page for printing.
It has been found that in the last six months, the prices of all types of educational materials, including books and notebook paper, have increased by one and a half to two times in several stages. As a result, lower and middle class parents have been in crisis.
Farzana Akhter Jui, an employee of a private company, said that four months ago she bought half-rim paper for her daughter from Fakirapool for three and a half taka. Last week, when she ran out of paper, the shopkeeper asked for five and a half taka. Later, when she went to some shops to check, other sellers also asked for the same price. The prices of everything in the market have increased, so will the price of paper also increase like this? The salary will not increase in proportion to the increase in the cost of education. Now I am worried about the additional cost of my children’s education.
Another parent, Moushumi Akhter, said, “We have a fixed-salary job. With this, it is becoming difficult to raise money for the education of our children after the expenses of the family. Last year, I bought a Casio scientific calculator for 1,000 taka for my son who is studying in the eighth grade. I am now buying another calculator that I lost for 1,700 taka. The shopkeeper said that there are no calculators in the market where imports are banned.
When asked about this, economist Professor Shah Mahdul Hasan said, “If expenses increase, it will be a strain on the family, it is natural. The issue of increasing the price of food or daily necessities due to inflation is not discussed in the same way as the issue of increasing the price of educational materials. Due to the increase in the price of educational materials, the burden of expenses on parents will become heavier.”
Follow: greenbanglaonline24
