Rising cost of books hits schoolkids’ parents

Lucknow: With the new academic session underway, the rising cost of text books and stationery is putting severe pressure on household budgets. This is in addition to the about 10% hike in fees.

Parents say prices of study materials have increased by nearly 15-20% this year as compared to last session, making it difficult to manage monthly finances.

“Unlike earlier years when books could be reused or borrowed from seniors, now schools frequently change the prescribed books and ask to buy from a particular vendor. As a result, families are compelled to buy a fresh set of books every year,” said Rananjay Singh, father of two sons who study in class 5 and 6 respectively.

Aarti Srivastava, whose two children study in Classes 2 and 9, said, “Our monthly household income is around Rs 55,000. Last year, we spent about Rs19,000 on books and stationery, but this year it has risen to Rs22,000.”

Priyamwad Singh, a private employee earning around Rs60,000 per month, spent more than Rs34,000 on books and stationery alone. To cope with the rising costs, he has been forced to delay in home repairs.

Even for a single child, expenses remain substantial. Rashee Roy, who earns around Rs40,000 per month stated that nearly Rs10,000 was spent on books and copies alone.

“With separate expenses like uniforms and shoes, the financial pressure is only increasing. Schools are also adding unnecessary items like cursive writing books for Class 5 and colouring books for arts and crafts, which often remain unused from the previous year. There is an urgent need for authorities to regulate prices and provide relief to middle-class families struggling to manage education costs,” said Sameer Vikram, parent of a class 5 student.

President of association of private schools, UP, Atul Srivastava, however, was of the view that prices of books have risen because of hike in cost of paper. “Schools have the autonomy to choose publishers and these decisions are made keeping quality and academic requirements in mind,” he added.