Third of parents in debt to cover back-to-school costs
More than a third of parents are still getting into debt in order to cover back-to-school costs for their children, with books and uniforms the biggest expense families face as they prepare for September.
With one third of parents forced to deny their children extracurricular activities, school trips, or school shoes because they cannot afford them, 78% of parents find back-to-school costs a financial burden, up 11% in the last year.
Parents are spending an average €1,399 to send a secondary school student back to school, €20 more than last year. This includes €220 on books and €200 on uniforms. Parents of primary school students are expected to spend €949 this year, a €50 decrease on last year. This includes €123 on books and €133 on uniforms.
Secondary school trips are set to cost parents €190 this year, compared with €159 last year, and parents of primary school students expect to pay up to €159 on extracurriculars. An increasing number of parents also feel under pressure to buy branded goods for their children, with 54% feeling this pressure compared to 43% last year.
The findings were revealed in a national survey by the Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU), carried out by market research company iReach Insights in June. While the numbers of parents in debt over back-to-school costs remains at 36%, almost a quarter of these have turned to a moneylender. This is a 3% drop since last year, according to the ILCU.
The average amount borrowed by parents from moneylenders has also fallen slightly, from €450 last year to €439 this year. Family holidays are most often the biggest sacrifice parents make to cover back to school costs, with a third of parents cutting spending on summer activities for the kids and 8% reducing their spend on food for the family.
Almost three quarters of parents (74%) believe schools are not doing enough to keep costs down, up from 69% last year. Considerably more secondary school parents (80%) than primary school parents (70%) feel this way.
The survey’s findings follow a recommendation by the Oireachtas education committee to introduce generic, unbranded uniforms in schools in a bid to reduce costs for families.
Funding for the school book rental scheme should be increased by an additional €20m in Budget 2020, the committee also recommended. These recommendations will help ease this annual burden if taken on board, according to Paul Bailey of the ILCU.
“We are calling on the Government to take more affirmative action to tackle the rising costs of sending children back to school,” he said.
The ILCU is encouraged to see parents move away from moneylenders and credit cards to cover back to school costs, he added.
