Burundi : Parents’ concerns on the eve of the start of the school year

Life has become too expensive for many families throughout the country and especially in the commercial city, Bujumbura due to the explosion in prices and the degradation of the Burundian currency. Following this situation, several large families admit to having already decided to send part of their children to school this year.

INFO SOS Médias Burundi

There are many parents who are showing their despair.

A family encountered in Kabezi, Bujumbura province, said that the start of the school year had already scared parents in the past, but that it is worse this year.

“Seeing how difficult it is today to feed even a small family, what about a family with many children? For us, we have no other choice, the adult children will drop out this year because school supplies are expensive,” she lamented.

Catherine also finds that the next school year will be very difficult.

“Without government help, our children risk dropping out of school,” she insists with a forced smile.

“May our leaders have some compassion for us, prices of basic necessities are rising day by day, and we have no choice,” she adds.

The mayor of Bujumbura, Jimmy Hatungimana, issued a statement banning the sale of school supplies near the former central market.

For a mother met in the city center, some government measures are making life even more complicated for ordinary citizens.

“We can’t all have to pay to rent stalls in a market,” she insists.

Jean-Marie, a resident of the Mugoboka neighborhood in the centre of the commercial capital, also says he is overwhelmed.

“I have 10 children, 6 with my late first wife and 4 that I had with my current partner. Four are in secondary school and five in primary school, another is still very young. It is difficult to feed my children with this surge in prices, and thinking about the next school year sincerely troubles me,” he admits.

All the people we met agree on the subject. They ask the government to reduce, for example, prices of certain basic necessities to at least make their task easier.

The next school year in the small East African nation will take place in September.

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Illustration photo : a point of sale for school supplies in northwestern Burundi, August 2023 (SOS Médias Burundi)