Parents feel the pinch as school items rise 10%

Parents here are complaining that their finances are under pressure because of the rising cost of school stationery, bags and other items for their children. Prices have risen by between 7 and 10 percent, they say.
Khalid Dawood, a father of three, said prices of all school items have risen. “The prices of everything have increased compared to last year. There seems to be increases of between 7 and 10 percent.”
David Chad, a father, said that stationery prices and school bags have risen by 10 percent. “The bag we bought last year for SR70 now costs SR100. We also noticed price increases for bags with cartoon characters, notebooks and lunch containers.”
He said it costs SR2 for a notebook of 40 pages. “And small stationery shops have their own prices. I'm sure all the parents at the moment are feeling the pressure on their budgets,” he said.
Another father, Ahmed Mohammed, told Arab News that he is under financial pressure because costs are rising for everything including school fees, house rents and food. He has not received a salary increase to compensate for the higher living costs.
“I am not a person who looks at price when I need to buy things for my children but I must say that it’s difficult to bear these price increases. It's become difficult to survive. I have noticed some price increases of between 7 and 10 percent,” said Mohammed.
Another father, Munir Ahmed, said prices have increased by 7 percent, which is affordable for him. He hopes that prices will come down in future.
Naeem Khan, another parent, said that prices have increased at all the stationery shops.
“I have four school-going children and I purchased all their stationery needs from the wholesale market and saved some money. I bought a bag for SR70 which costs SR120 or more at ordinary stationery shops,” he said.