New school year: Parents decry challenges

By Nambu Bernadette Franka

Just a week into the 2023-2024 academic year, some parents have poured out their frustrations on the process of preparing children for classes. They say it is very challenging and costly.

Fongi Collette, a mother of 4 who said the process of preparing her children to school every morning takes about three hours.

“I wake up at 5AM, after morning devotion, the kids head to the bathroom and I start preparing what they have to eat for breakfast and what they will take to school as snacks. As a career mother, its not easy on me because by the time I get to work, I am already very exhausted,” she said.

“I spend up to 1500 FCFA per day, I also have to put snacks into their bags for school. One person can take up to 300 francs. It differs because what my class six child will take for snacks will not be the same thing the nursery one will take, which the variety more expensive. I at times spend up to 50,000FCFA a month sometimes even more,” she further explained.

This and many other challenges are said to be what most parents go through to ensure that their children go to school.