Dubai: It is that time of the year again the time when parents of all nationalities throughout the UAE, find themselves trudging from the tailors to the stationery shop; from the uniform outlet to the computer store.
Parents and children, many of whom having recently returned from their summer vacations, brave the heat armed with the sacred list of school items that must be purchased before the beginning of the year.
But, just how costly is this annual ritual? With school fees on the increase and the general cost of living putting a strain on many families, the added back-to-school cost is being felt by many parents.
Regardless of which school your children attend, a wide-range of items are required, from new uniforms and shoes, to bags and stationery. Some schools even stipulate that students wear particular socks or hair bands.
Narayani Mahmoud from Canada, whose 17-year old son is about to start his final year at an international school in Dubai, says that like most aspects of life, the price of getting her children back to school is definitely increasing.
"Yes, items are increasing, but particularly if you are paying the kind of fees that we are, the cost of the uniforms and other required items do not seem like such a big deal," she told Gulf News.
"In comparison to the fees, the few hundred dirhams that you have to spend at the beginning of every year do not seem like much. I think everything is more expensive than it was three years ago. All costs are rising, including bus fees, tuition and uniforms, as well as hidden costs."
While some expatriate families have their school fees paid by their employers, many do not, which has created a great strain on some families
"For those people who do not have to pay the school fees, the added cost of school uniforms, stationery and other items may seem like a lot. For us, it is just normal," Mahmoud said.
However, according to the manager of a well-known uniform shop in Dubai, families with a couple of school-going children can run up bills into thousands of dirhams for their back-to-school gear, with most purchasing around three sets of uniforms.
"I normally buy my son two shirts and two pairs of trousers," said Mahmoud. "When one set of trousers which are not of good quality, are being sold for Dh100 it starts to get ridiculous, but you have to do it if you want your child to go to that school."
Mahmoud says that most private schools are now being run as businesses, and her son's is no exception.
"The school is reasonable, so we have to bear the extra cost, but it is certainly difficult. My son also has to have extra items such as a scientific calculator, which cost around Dh700, but most books come from the school," Mahmoud said.
"Personally I am not a one uniform-a-day parent. Some children have five uniforms and then at the end of the year, they tear them up and write all over them, as they assume that they will simply get new ones. My children are certainly not permitted to do that."
Shahzad Butt, whose three children attend international schools, says he also feels the pinch.
"I have suffered a lot because of the increase in fees, especially this year," he said. "We pay a lot for extra items, including uniforms and books, which have to be bought at a particular outlet, which has a monopoly on business. The parents are the ones who are bearing a burden which keeps increasing."
According to most parents, the cost of getting their children back to school every year is just part of the overall burden of maintaining a family in the UAE.
According to suppliers of Indian school uniforms, prices have recently gone up by 15 to 20 per cent
"We are currently charging a nominal Dh5 more for every item," said a sales executive of the shop that supplies uniforms to a large Indian school in Bur Dubai.
On average it costs parents Dh70 for a uniform set for a child in the first standard. One parent said she buys three sets as the uniforms need to be washed frequently for younger children.
Many Indian parents try to curb costs and save on books by purchasing them while in India on holidays as it is cheaper there.
For the tightwad parents there are also a number of second-hand school textbook stores in Dubai. Some parents also pass on their children's textbooks on to family friends.
The Indian schools do not insist that parents buy the uniforms or textbooks from the schools and are free to purchase them from any shop.
Some parents still feel the cost is high and the quality of the cloth is bad. One parent Sayeeda Ahmad said that sports shirts are priced too high. "They should cost Dh15, not Dh35," she said.
Palestinian Hosam Hassan, whose four children attend Arabic schools, said that the cost of education is a huge burden and that low income families struggle on a daily basis to meet the demands of the schools.
"Often I had to take a loan to be able to get my children ready in the beginning of the academic year, so I end up in vicious cycle, where my salary is overburden by loans," he said.
Mona Mohammad, a UAE national mother of three, said that the demands of schools are increasing every year. "Private schools demand a lot from parents; the books' prices and uniforms are increasing," she said.
However, Fatima Al Merri, Principal of Al Raya Secondary School for Girls, said that the 'back to school' cost is little as far as pupils in public schools are concerned and has not increased this year as parents only pay for uniforms and stationery.
"The cost of uniforms for public schools varies enormously depending on the quality of the fabric, but generally the material is quite cheap. The only thing that we demand from the pupils is to adhere to the design and to have the school's logo on it," Al Merri said.
