Islamabad:As back-to-school essentials shopping is picking up pace with reopening of the educational institutions in the country after summer vacations, parents are grappling with the higher prices on all the essential school items. Most of the private schools start their new academic session after the summer break and it is a common practice for many parents to buy the back to school essentials for their kids prior to the opening of the schools by physically visiting the designated stationary stores or ordering through the online suppliers. The price of school supplies from glue, colour pencils, markers, lunch box, water bottle, geometry box, school bags, and cut box to textbooks, notebooks and uniforms has registered a significant increase which made it difficult for families, especially salaried class, to manage the educational expenses.
“I have spent around Rs20,000 to purchase the textbooks and notebooks for my son promoted in Grade-III while the stationary, uniform and other essential stuff are still to be purchased which I will buy on weekend as the students can wear coloured clothes during the first week,” Hammad Ali, a parent of two said. Although it has become difficult to bear the expenses of my one school going son who is studying in private schools but we have no option left when the government institutions lack facilities and educational standards, he lamented while talking to APP on Thursday. Ayesha Malik, a mother of three kids, said, I was shocked to hear.