The ManicaPost
Tendai Gukutikwa Post Correspondent —
Amid the festive season, parents should spend sparingly bearing in mind that there is still life after the jubilation season and children still need school fees and their education must be catered for, come January 2017.
Overspending during the festive season has been the norm in the past years regardless of whether you have school going children or not.
However, such has not been the case this year to the fathers, mothers and guardians of school going children as they have to save funds for the coming education season, amidst the cash crisis in the country.
Speaking to The Manica Post, a Mutare resident, Eve Musiiwa whose child is due for grade one this coming school term said owing to the cash crisis at the banks, she was being forced to let go of some of the her usual spending habits during the festive season as she has to save for her child’s fees.
“We are being given $40 a day at the bank after waiting for hours on long queues so spending like I used to is not an option this year.
‘‘I am already preparing and saving that money for my child’s uniforms, stationery and school fees as she is starting Grade 1 and that is way expensive than any other stage in the primary school,” she said.
All in all, she has to part with $260 for her six year-old child to go to school in 2017 and according to her, spending as much as she did, will deprive her child of some of her educational necessities.
Another parent, Justin Kwesha whose child will be attending Form 1 at a boarding school in the city said the festive season is not much enjoyable with his son starting high school as he has to fork out a little over $500 to cover all of the child’s educational needs.
Said Kwesha: “We indeed are celebrating the festive season but not in style as we usually do because we have school fees to pay and uniforms to buy. My son is starting form one this coming month and he is not the only one of my children that will be in high school next year but we have to sacrifice. The moment I take the family to the holiday vacation at the various resorts in the country like we I to, I will be putting myself into more debt so it is wise that I budget everything.”
He however, said the school fees would not stop him from celebrating the new year with his family.
“The celebrations are limited but I am sure we are already enjoying. We had a mini-party at home on Christmas day and are already making preparations for another one on New Year’s Day,” he said.
To avoid the back-to-school rush and being attacked by the ‘January disease’ that usually hits a lot of people in the coming month, most parents have taken to spending sparingly during the festive season.
In many cases over time, parents have been known to struggle in meeting school fees and various other bills on time, come January.
