…as educational material traders lament low sales
The long holidays are gradually coming to an end and most schools will be resuming for the new academic session in a matter of days. Of course, this period can be a hectic one for many parents and guardians, as they have to source for and provide the required school items for their children and wards, at least, to set them in the mood for resuming classes.
Investigation by our correspondent, however, revealed that most parents/guardians are still struggling to put in place many of the necessary things required for their children’s return to school for the beginning of the new academic session, due to the current state of the economy.
Unlike in the past, our correspondent observed that by this time markets, bookshops and shopping centers would have been filled with parents doing shopping for their children, in preparation for their resumption. But, this time round, many of the bookshops and shopping centres have yet to experience the typical hustle and bustle that used to characterise the run-up to the resumption of school across the country.
As expected, the dealers in school materials such as books, bags and others have raised their prices in anticipation of making brisk sales at this period of the year. Ironically, they have also been lamenting poor patronage and sales.
According to a parent, Mrs. Fatima Lamida, these are trying times for many families in terms of the availability of the financial resources to get their children returning to school the necessary items and materials.
Lamida, who is a trader, said that money had become very hard to come by in Nigeria, as many citizens lacked the purchasing power to procure all their needs.
She told our correspondent that the situation had become so hard for her and her family because her husband, who is a teacher in a private school, would not be paid any salary during the holidays by his employers.
Lamida also lamented that due to this situation, her eranings from her petty trading, which had been sustaining her family, had been drastically depleted.
At this time, the demands are high; parents should try to get more sources of income because in Nigeria just one job will not help you to adequately meet all your family needs
She, therefore, expressed regret that now that resumption of school is by the corner and the family’s resources had been depleted, it would be hard for her husband to raise the money with which to procure all the materials that would needed in school by their children for the new academic session.
“Now that the holiday is coming to an end, I, as a trader, and my husband, a teacher, have to look for money to buy the necessary things for our two children. One is resuming freshly into a primary school while the other is going into a secondary school as a fresher, also. And you know what that means. Everything will have to be bought and as of today, nothing is ready,” Lamida said.
In the case of Mr. Olorode Aliu, the situation is even more challenging as his employers have yet to pay him his salaries in the past two months.
For Aliu, feeding his family alone was enough problem, which would be compounded by demand for tuition fee and the incidental expenses on books and other materials for his children to learn in school.
He said, “For two months, my salary has been pending. Even though I feel good that my child is going back to school, whenever I remember the many bills I have to pay, it makes me anxious. Paying school fees, changing school uniforms, bags and shoes are too expensive and parents are not finding it easy.
“The current dispensation should please ensure that we do not pay so much to get quality education for our children. If public schools were good enough, I don’t see any reason I should send my child to a private school, where I have to pay through my nose to keep them in school.”
A single parent, Mrs. Oyinlola James, said her situation was worse as she had to cater for her daughter all alone. She claimed that her estranged husband had not been contributing towards the upkeep of their child.
According to her, the economy of the country had been unfavourable and unfair to people in her situation.
James said, “The economy is so bad and so, it is not easy for parents to send their kids to private schools. Many parents like me are sending their kids to private schools not because they are wealthy, but because we want the best for our children. Government is doing nothing to ensure that children have access to quality education in this country.
“Imagine sending your child to government schools that lack staff. I heard that most government school teachers treat students anyhow, because of the way they are treated by the government.”
Shop owners selling school items have also been lamenting the poor sales recorded lately. They said that though they still got some patronage, their sales had dropped drastically.
A shop owner, popularly known as Iya Segun, who sells educational materials in Mowe, Ogun State, lamented the low patronage by her customers.
“This time last year, we had good sales because my customers were regularly demanding for goods. But this is not the case now. When I ask them now if they are buying anything, they’ll say their children will manage the old materials for now,” she said.
Another roadside seller of used clothes known in local parlance as ‘okrika’, Mr. Eze, lamented, “Market is not good.
“By the roadside, since we sell used and cheap products, we get more patronage for used shoes, bags, lunch box. But that is not happening as it should this time. Market is not good.”
A bookshop owner, who simply identified himself as Mr. Chibueze, said he was expecting some miracle to direct customers to his shop to make huge purchases of books and other educational materials for their children resuming in school.
“Since morning I have sold few books in this season. I am still waiting maybe parents will patronise me more when they resume fully by God’s grace,” he said.
Meanwhile, an educationist in the Agricultural Department of the University of Ilorin, Prof. Job Atteh, has said parents should try to prepare more for the school resumption season by getting multiple sources of income to enable them to take adequate care of the financial requirements for their children’s resumption in school.
“At this time, the demands are high; parents should try to get more sources of income because in Nigeria just one job will not help you to adequately meet all your family needs,” he said.
