Bujumbura : the 2025 school year weighed down by inflation and stagnant wages

SOS Médias Burundi

Bujumbura, September 12, 2025 – With the start of the school year scheduled for September 15 in Bujumbura, the commercial capital of Burundi, Burundian families are experiencing real anxiety.

Families are facing soaring inflation for school supplies and stagnant wages, making preparing for the new school year increasingly difficult.

“Wages haven’t increased, but almost all supplies cost double compared to last year,” complained a parent at the city center market. Notebooks, uniforms, backpacks, shoes… everything has skyrocketed in price. Notebooks, for example, have risen to 1,000–2,000 Burundi francs each, and uniforms are now selling for double the usual price.

Faced with this situation, some families are trying to limit expenses by mending old uniforms or reusing school supplies from the previous year. “It feels like there won’t be classes on Monday, because we haven’t bought anything yet and we haven’t even received our end-of-month salaries,” confides one visibly discouraged parent.

Solidarity for survival

In this context, solidarity between families is taking on a new dimension. More and more parents are choosing to lend or exchange schoolbooks, a practice that remained marginal a few years ago. This initiative, although modest, helps to alleviate the back-to-school burden somewhat.

Despite these efforts, despair is spreading among households. In several neighborhoods of the commercial capital, anxiety remains palpable, and many parents are wondering if their children will actually be able to return to school on Monday.

A back-to-school in danger?

Education Minister Professor François Havyarimana, has confirmed the start of classes as September 15, 2025. But on the ground, the situation remains uncertain. The specter of a partially boycotted back-to-school season looms large due to a lack of material resources.

Markets and stationery stores are experiencing much lower attendance than usual. The collapsed purchasing power is forcing families to make painful choices between education, food, and other essential needs.

The 2025 school year promises to be one of the most difficult in recent years in Bujumbura. Between rampant inflation, delayed salary payments, and an unsustainable cost of living, Burundian families are facing an almost impossible equation.