Soaring Prices of School Supplies Burden Turkish Families
ISTANBUL, Sept. 8 – Turkish families are facing a heavy financial burden as they struggle to cope with the skyrocketing prices of school supplies. The rising cost of living has made it increasingly difficult for families, especially those on minimum wages, to meet their children’s educational needs.
In Istanbul, two young girls were thrilled as they browsed through the colorful school supplies at a store. However, their excitement quickly diminished when they realized the high price tags attached to their desired items. Their father, shocked by the prices, asked if there were any cheaper alternatives available.
Even typically affordable stationery shops in Istanbul’s Tahtakale neighborhood have been forced to raise their prices due to the increasing costs they face. With prices of items like pen holders, files, and notebooks reaching exorbitant levels, families are finding it challenging to afford the basic necessities. Seymanur Arslan, a concerned mother, lamented, A pen holder, two files, and two notebooks cost 640 Turkish liras… How can we afford all the required basic items? This expense adds to the already high costs of shoes, uniforms, and coats.
The dire situation is evident in the significantly reduced sales for stationery shop owners. The streets that were once bustling with eager shoppers are now deserted. A stallholder emphasized that his shop used to sell school supplies like crazy during this time of the year, but now, people are reluctant to make purchases due to the soaring prices. A nearby wholesaler of stationery products shared similar concerns, revealing that customers now only buy supplies in small quantities with nylon bags, whereas they used to make bulk purchases.
Ferruh Buyukoglu, the owner of a stationery store called Bargain Market, expressed the distress caused by the rising prices. As households’ purchasing power is diminishing, people resort to credit cards and take on debt at the cost of blowing a hole in the budget, he explained.
One family felt the impact firsthand, as they were shopping for their daughter’s second year of primary school. The mother, Nurdan Bulut, expressed her dismay at the inflated prices. All is very expensive this year. Look, a pencil sharpener is 30 liras, which we used to buy at 2.5 liras or even 1.5 liras, she said. To cut costs, she decided to reuse unused portions of her older son’s notebooks for her daughter.
Despite efforts by the government to tackle the issue, inflation remains high in Turkey, reaching 58.94 percent in August. The recent increase in the minimum wages of workers, though significant, has not alleviated the financial burdens on households. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan acknowledges the challenges, stating, The rise in annual inflation requires us to fight harder against the cost of living. He specifically highlighted the increased prices of raw materials, energy, labor, and rent.
While combating inflation may be a long and arduous journey, President Erdogan assured the public of his government’s determination to reduce inflation. However, Turkish families continue to grapple with the burden of soaring prices for school supplies, which impede their children’s educational progress and strain household budgets.
