Prices for school supplies increased by 14% compared to last year

Prices for school supplies have risen again this year, with a basket of eight student essentials now costing 14% more than in 2022, according to the price comparison platform.

The conclusion, published this Thursday, comes from the KuantoKusta platform, which analyzed the average price of a set of school supplies, which includes pencils, ballpoint pens, notebooks, backpacks, pencil cases, compasses, scientific calculators and flash drives.

“The average cost of a basket for a 2nd cycle student reached 122.58 euros on August 27 this year, which is 15.22 euros more compared to the same period in 2022, when the cost was 107.36 euros,” the platform said. .

Purchasing new school supplies for students this year costs 14.2% more than in 2022, an increase of about 33% compared to 2021, according to an analysis by KuantoKusta.

Among the various products that make up the basket, the biggest difference in price is for ballpoint pens, which are about 57.9% more expensive, as well as for compasses (by 19.8%), pencil cases (by 18.5%) and scientific calculators (by 18.5%). ,4%). .

On the part of families, the rise in prices is being felt “at all levels” and school supplies are no exception, the president of the National Confederation of Parents’ Associations (Confap) told Lusa.

“There are a lot of materials that are actually indispensable, and families have to bear those costs,” he said, recalling that while some municipalities support the most needy students by providing some of these materials, “all families should have the same opportunity.”

According to QuantoCoust, one way to minimize these costs could be to compare the lowest prices for each product. This exercise can save up to 21 euros.

“The pre-school period is marked by campaigns and promotions, and it is always important to keep an eye on price developments and take advantage of emerging savings opportunities,” explains Ana Rego from the platform’s marketing team.

This strategy has already been adopted by families who often resort to back-to-school promotions by large supermarkets. But in this case, laments the president of Confap, the costs are not deductible by the IRS.

“There is not even a possibility of compensation. There must at least be a strategy in place to generate some financial return from the IRS, which is not the case in these cases,” he defended.

For some families this year, in addition to the usual expenses for other school materials, there are expenses for the purchase of new textbooks, as schools have told them that students who reach 4th grade will lose their right to school textbooks. a “voucher” that allows you to receive new free manuals because the delivered books have been written or crossed out.

Although the Ministry of Education has meanwhile decided to open an exceptional period to correct the issuance of coupons, many parents have already bought books for next year, the director of Confap explained.