Scholastic material prices rise as school starts

Rose Namatovu Nalongo, a resident of Kajjansi Wakiso district was on Monday stranded at Kikubo shopping centre in Kampala as the money she had was not enough to buy her daughter's scholastic materials.

Namatovu said she had come with sh25, 000 to purchase a ream of papers and a pair of shoes for her daughter. However, when she reached Kikubo, the price of the ream was shockingly high.

Students going back to school

 
‘'I had planned to use sh10,000 for the shoes and sh15,000 for the ream of papers but the ream costs between sh18000-20,000, so I am stranded," she explained.

Rashidi Kazibwe, a trader in Kikubo noted that the rise of scholastic material prices is due to high taxes.  

"A  black book which has been at sh5000  is now at sh7000, toilet paper pack that has been at sh10,000 has risen to sh12,000,'' Kazibwe said.

He called upon the government to reduce levies on scholastic material in order to make them affordable.