The demand for school supplies has increased at various markets in the Accra Central Business District (CBD) as the 2024/2025 academic year begins.
Highly sought after are stationery products including, textbooks, exercise books, note books, pens, pencils and mathematical sets as well as other items such as drawing boards and cardboards.
When the Ghanaian Times visited the CBD on Tuesday, it observed that parents and guardians had besieged various shops with their lists to purchase what they could afford.
Traders who had shops were busily serving buyers, while some hawkers had arranged some of the supplies by the road side, with others traders moving from vehicle to vehicle with the books.
At Makola, some traders said they were recording significant boost in the sales since last week, but others lamented that bulk purchases by private schools had negatively impacted their sales.
The Ghanaian Times also observed that the prices of textbooks and other educational materials had risen significantly when compared to last year.
A vendor at Fadex Bookshop, Kofi Mireku, stated that nursery books were sold at GH¢20 last year but now, they range between GH¢50 and GH¢60.
He said last year, textbooks for Junior High Schools (JHS) which cover JHS1 to 3 were sold for less than GH¢80 but currently, they cost GH¢150 per one.
Additionally, textbooks which cover only one subject was selling between GH¢80 and GH¢100. ''The new curriculum has also affected our market because new curriculum textbooks are expensive than the old curriculum textbooks" he said.
Another Vendor, Maxwell Adanuti, blamed the increment of educational materials on higher import duties and the weakening of the cedi against major foreign currencies.
Despite the price increment, sellers said that some school items such as notebooks were still in high demand.
Acknowledging the price hikes, a parent, Mrs Dorcas Oppong, expressed worry that, "Primary 2 Golden English, which used to cost GH¢70, is now priced at GH¢100 or more. "It's really hard, especially when you have a lot kids in school.
I had planned a budget for my children's materials for school, but now I'm spending more than I intended," said another parent, Agnes Tetteh.
Other parents told the Ghanaian Times despite the increase in prices of supplies, they had no option than to get the stationery for their wards for the academic year.
Both sellers and customers called on the government to put in place measures, including reducing import duties on educational materials, which could help stabilise prices and make school supplies more affordable. "Reducing taxes on books and school items would make a big difference, and It's not just about us making a profit, it's also about supporting students and families who are finding it hard to cope with these costs.'' Mr Kofi Mireku stress.
Basic schools in the country on Monday reopened for the commencement of the 2024/2025 academic year.
This officially restored the academic calendar for basic school to September four years after it was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. BY SARAH KYEREWAA BOAKYE & TONY KRAPAH