Festive spending and ploughing season leave parents struggling to afford back-to-school fees and stationery

As the new academic year approaches, parents are facing mounting financial challenges after heavy festive spending.

The costs of preparing children for the school year have been exacerbated for some parents by this period coinciding with ploughing rural fields, which can also be costly.

Letisia Wilbard from Omupanda village in the Ongwediva constituency, whose child is moving to a new school for Grade 8, says she is not financially ready to send her daughter to the hostel as she has just paid for a tractor to plough their field.

Wilbard says her child will not be able to go to the hostel yet as she cannot afford stationery, blankets, food and hostel fees.

“I just paid N$1 950 this week for a ploughing tractor. My daughter will be home-schooling, because I cannot afford a new school uniform, stationery, and hostel fees,” she says.

She plans to apply for a loan, but says it will be hard to repay.
Rebekka Usiku from Onameya village at Omuthiya also plans to apply for a bank loan to ensure her three children’s education.

Two of them attend a private school and another is starting high school.

“I cannot accommodate all of them on my salary. I have a field that needs to be cultivated and schools to be paid. I will apply for a loan and send them off to school,” she says.

Mirjam Tadeus from Onakalunga village in the Ohangwena region says not spending much during the festive season has saved her some money, adding she is ready to send her son and sister to school.

She says she bought school stationery and other items in advance and will use what is left for transport.

“With my sister going to a higher grade. It will be costly, because she will now need transport money,” she says.

Tadeus urges parents to buy stationery in advance and at shops with special offers.

Emilia Naftal from Otalanawa village in the Oshana region, whose two sisters will be attending new schools this year, says while she had planned ahead and had savings, buying her sisters’ uniforms was a challenge.

“… especially for the one going to high school. Her uniform is expensive,” she says.
Naftal says it is better to buy stationery during off-peak season.

She says parents should start saving early to reduce financial pressure.

AVOID LOANS

Meanwhile, consumer analyst Salomo Iipinge advises against taking out loans, saying parents should rather make arrangements with schools to pay off fees and other expenses over time.

He urges parents to start preparing for the following academic year in September and October already.

“Taking out loans to pay for stationery is the wrong move. It is not an option. It’s a very bad start to the year.

Start preparing early, because prices hype up during this season,” he says.

Iipinge, however, says consumers have become smarter in their approach to the back-to-school season, compared to previous years, adding that many buy items during off-peak season.

National Organisation of Parents in Education (Naope) acting spokesperson Salome Kambala agrees that taking loans only adds to the financial pressure, saying one ends up repaying more than the original loan amount.

She says it is costly to send children to school, especially those going to boarding school, advising parents to plan ahead and avoid loans.
“The best way is to plan ahead and avoid cash loans,” she urges.

Kambala says the organisation will engage communities directly and use the media to educate parents about responsible festive spending and early planning for the back-to-school period.

Ongwediva constituency councillor Johannes Ngololo says his office plans to introduce an initiative to help parents, especially those raising orphans, with school items.

“If we experience such problems, we will make some arrangements for parents in the future so we can assist orphans,” he says, urging parents to start budgeting early and limit luxury spending.

Education minister Sanet Steenkamp says out of the N$24 billion allocated to the Ministry of Education, Innovation, Youth, Sport, Arts and Culture during the current financial year, N$25 million has been earmarked for textbooks.

‘NOT ENOUGH’

However, an Oshana region school principal has told The Namibian this is not enough, which is why parents are required to contribute where possible.

“It’s not mandatory, but they should buy what they can afford to supplement what the ministry provides,” the principal, who prefers to remain anonymous, says.

Emilia Naftal, a teacher at Omulunga Combined School in the Ohangwena region, is urging parents to buy stationery, saying funding to schools is not enough to cover all their needs.

She says most parents believe school is free, but notes that the government’s funds also cover items such as ink and copy machines, and repairing equipment.

“If the money is enough, why do about 80% of schools ask for stationery? Are those schools all lying?” she asks.

Reinhold Iita, the principal of Matheus Mudjanima Combined School in the Onamutai circuit, says the ministry has provided it with all learning materials and that the school would not require parents to contribute.

“What we get from the government is enough. We do not send parents to buy stationery. We are going to collect more stationery tomorrow,” he says.

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