Back-to-school costs squeeze family budgets
Families in Bahrain are being hit with back-to-school bills running into hundreds of dinars, with bags, uniforms and stationery only the first items on a list that can grow to include books, buses and private lessons.
A Daily Tribune survey of prices and deals across the local market found that getting one pupil ready for school costs between BD50 and BD200 before many of those extra bills are added. The estimated average is about BD120.
Basic bags start at around BD3, while branded ones can cost above BD20. Notebooks, pens and other stationery run from BD10 to BD30. Uniforms, shoes and sportswear can add another BD25 to BD70.
The final bill depends on the child’s year group, school rules and how much parents buy.
The Education Ministry has also worked with shops and firms to offer pupils vouchers and discounts on school supplies, clothes, computers and other services.
MP Mohsen Al Asbool told The Daily Tribune that ministry teams had spent recent months seeking deals from companies, traders and shops before the new school year.
‘The vouchers and discounts on school supplies, clothes, computers and other services have helped ease the pressure on families,’ he said.
Mr Al Asbool said families differed in how much use they could make of the offers and supported allowing those who did not need their vouchers to pass them to households that would benefit from them.
For some private-school parents, however, books alone can double the bill.
Zahra Riyadh, whose two children attend a private school, told The Daily Tribune she spends around BD200 on their uniforms, bags, shoes, lunch boxes and stationery before buying books.
Books and school study booklets then cost about BD200 for each child, she said.
Her children also have their own ideas about what goes into the shopping basket. Her older son wants Spider-Man school gear, while her daughter prefers Barbie.
‘They look for certain themes that make them excited about school, so finding everything can be a little tiring, especially when the children are picky,’ Mrs Riyadh said.
Some parents are crossing the Causeway in search of cheaper goods.
Ahmed Isa travelled to Saudi Arabia to buy supplies for his son, who is starting Grade One at a government school.
He told The Daily Tribune that prices in Bahrain led him to shop across the border, where he spent around BD30 on stationery, including notebooks and rulers, and another BD30 on a bag and lunch box.
‘The books are heavy, so I had to buy a bag that makes it easier for him to carry and pull,’ he said.
Mr Isa said he saw many Bahraini families doing the same in Dammam and Al Khobar before the new term. Travel firms were also running buses from Bahrain to the two cities for school shoppers, he said.
Then come the monthly bills.
Private school transport costs about BD25 to BD50 a month for each pupil, according to prices checked by The Daily Tribune. Fares depend on distance, the number of trips and the type of service. Some operators charge less when several children from one family use the same bus.
Private lessons bring another monthly cost.
Some institutes charge from BD15 a month for one subject, while prices often sit at about BD25. Three subjects cost about BD45 a month, rising to around BD60 for four.
At one retailer surveyed by The Daily Tribune, one bag had fallen from about BD19 to BD14, a cut of roughly 27pc. Another dropped from about BD7 to BD4.5, saving shoppers about 36pc.
A retailer told The Daily Tribune that prices had changed little. The bigger change, he said, was the time goods now took to arrive.
Retailers had previously bought much of their school stock from China and Thailand, but shipping trouble had lengthened delivery times and led some importers to buy from Gulf markets such as Dubai instead.
For many families, the school bill therefore does not end when the bag is packed. Hundreds of dinars can be spent before term begins, followed in some homes by transport and tuition payments every month.
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