Parents are voicing alarm over rising stationery prices ahead of the new school year, slated to begin at the end of the month.

Many have complained that at least 40 percent of their home budget would be taken up by school-related expenses, which also includes textbooks and other accessories teachers ask of students over the course of the year.

Some parents have even urged the Ministry of Education and the Consumer Protection Society to beef up market-monitoring campaigns to ensure that parents are not ripped off by traders, who are using increasingly attractive ads, promotions and packaging techniques to ensure kids are spoilt for choice.

Ibrahim Al-Khairy and Yaqub Al-Ahmari said they buy books and stationery for their children way ahead of the school reopening day to ensure they get a fair deal.

Like many parents with financial constraints, these dads make a concise list of what their children need and head straight for these shops to avoid wandering around and buying things they don’t need.

Al-Khairy urges teachers not to make unnecessary demands and instead, ask schoolchildren to bring in only what is really needed.

“My daughters’ demands were far more expensive than what my boys said they needed,” he said.

Hussain Al-Harbi, another parent, also stressed the need for increased surveillance on stationery to keep prices at reasonable levels, especially when schools reopen.