The start of a new school year is a symbolic moment every year, but for many families in Tunisia, it also means significant financial challenges.
To mark the occasion, Tunisian families are faced with the rising cost of school supplies. From simple notebooks and pens to textbooks and uniforms, expenses can add up quickly.
Declining purchasing power is a major challenge for many Tunisian families. Stagnating wages and rising living costs have created a situation where financial resources are more limited than ever. This has a direct impact on parents’ ability to pay for schooling.
Families now have to make tough decisions about their financial priorities, juggling back-to-school needs with ongoing bills and other necessities.
For some, this means making significant sacrifices and rethinking their spending habits.
The cost of going back to school has risen by 12%
The president of the Tunisian Organization to Inform the Consumer (OTIC), Lotfi Riahi, confirmed on Tuesday August 6, 2024 that the cost of going back to school has risen by 12% compared to last year.
Speaking on the El Charaa El Tounsi program, Riahi said that the cost of starting the new school year had reached 700 dinars for primary schools and called for the rationalization and standardization of school supplies lists.
For its part, the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights (FTDES) recently announced that the price of school supplies went up by 48% between 2021 and 2023.
Call to guarantee best conditions for start of new school year
New Minister of Education, Noureddine Nouri, has called for a redoubling of efforts to guarantee the best conditions for a successful start to the 2024-2025 school year.
At a working meeting held at the headquarters of his department, Nouri stressed the need to ensure the best possible conditions for the start of the new school year at all levels (organizational, financial and logistical) and to strengthen coordination between all central and regional services in order to create an attractive educational environment, according to a press release published on the official website of the Ministry of Education.
He took advantage of the meeting, which focused on the progress of preparations for the start of the new school year, to pay tribute to the role of civil society in the maintenance of the country’s educational institutions.
The National Chamber of Textbook Publishers, Samir Graba, confirmed that the printing of textbooks began last May and that more than 9 million copies have been printed so far, out of a planned total of 13 million.
The same source insisted that there would be no increase in the price of textbooks and subsidized exercise books this year, pointing out that these books have been on the market since July 1.
Towards the end of August, hypermarkets began to devote a large part of their space to school supplies. Parents and children were already making their first back-to-school purchases.
