News / Local
Back to school
04 Jan 2013 at 23:42hrs | Views
BULAWAYO was a hive of activity yesterday as parents and guardians jostled to do last minute back to school shopping for their children.
Schools open on Tuesday.
A survey by Chronicle revealed that prices of uniforms and stationery remained unchanged from last year.
Prices of senior and junior boys' shorts ranged between $5 and $15 while long sleeved shirts ranged from $7 to $15. Striped ties ranged from $8 to $14, plains skirts were $10 and $12.
"I came into town as early as 8am because I knew that most people will be doing their shopping today so there could be long queues," said Mrs Martha Nyoni who has a son doing Grade Five this year.
She said her fear had been that prices of uniforms would go up because of demand.
"It is known that most people like doing last minute shopping and as such prices tend to go up, but this time around I noticed that the prices were relatively the same as last year," said Mrs Nyoni.
She said stationery was also readily available unlike last year when some parents were forced to buy books at black market prices.
Another parent, Mr Norman Ndlovu, said the move by school uniform retailers to make sure that the supplies were enough was commendable.
"Shopping for school during this time of the year is usually not good as stocks normally run out but this time around shops were well stocked," said Mr Ndlovu.
He said they were being offered discount prices at some retail outlets.
A guardian, Mrs Emelia Dube, said there were long queues but the prices were fair.
A shop attendant at a city outlet said they have been busy since last Wednesday.
"These days we are overwhelmed by customers and the business is brisk," said the attendant.
Some parents could also be seen making payments at some schools and banks in and around the city.
The Government yesterday warned school authorities against increasing fees without permission from parents and the Ministry of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture.
Many school authorities have reportedly called for last minute meetings with parents meant to review fees upwards despite the fact that most parents had already paid the fees.
Schools open on Tuesday.
A survey by Chronicle revealed that prices of uniforms and stationery remained unchanged from last year.
Prices of senior and junior boys' shorts ranged between $5 and $15 while long sleeved shirts ranged from $7 to $15. Striped ties ranged from $8 to $14, plains skirts were $10 and $12.
"I came into town as early as 8am because I knew that most people will be doing their shopping today so there could be long queues," said Mrs Martha Nyoni who has a son doing Grade Five this year.
She said her fear had been that prices of uniforms would go up because of demand.
"It is known that most people like doing last minute shopping and as such prices tend to go up, but this time around I noticed that the prices were relatively the same as last year," said Mrs Nyoni.
She said stationery was also readily available unlike last year when some parents were forced to buy books at black market prices.
Another parent, Mr Norman Ndlovu, said the move by school uniform retailers to make sure that the supplies were enough was commendable.
"Shopping for school during this time of the year is usually not good as stocks normally run out but this time around shops were well stocked," said Mr Ndlovu.
He said they were being offered discount prices at some retail outlets.
A guardian, Mrs Emelia Dube, said there were long queues but the prices were fair.
A shop attendant at a city outlet said they have been busy since last Wednesday.
"These days we are overwhelmed by customers and the business is brisk," said the attendant.
Some parents could also be seen making payments at some schools and banks in and around the city.
The Government yesterday warned school authorities against increasing fees without permission from parents and the Ministry of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture.
Many school authorities have reportedly called for last minute meetings with parents meant to review fees upwards despite the fact that most parents had already paid the fees.
Source - TC
