At Akaki Market, one of Addis Ababa’s major trading centres, merchants have neatly arranged rows of blue, pink, green and imported backpacks. Alongside them are school uniforms, exercise books, coloured pencils, lunch boxes and other supplies that signal the beginning of a new academic year.
For generations, the back-to-school season has been a period of anticipation and hope, as families prepare their children for a new term. But for many households in Addis Ababa, that annual ritual has become an exhausting financial calculation.
The cost of uniforms, bags, exercise books and school fees has risen sharply, leaving parents caught between their hopes for their children’s education and the immediate struggle to pay rent, buy food and meet other daily expenses.
Forty-one-year-old Hailemichael Deresse stood at the entrance of a stationery shop, clutching a crumpled shopping list: two school uniforms, 12 exercise books, two school bags, a box of coloured pencils and a lunch box. He estimated that the trip would cost about 8,000 birr—more than half of his monthly salary.
“Last year, a uniform was 1,700 birr. This year, it has reached 2,600 birr,” Hailemichael said quietly.
Hailemichael works in a government office, while his wife earns a modest income brewing jebena coffee. Their two children attend kindergarten and KG 3, and their school fees alone amount to 5,200 birr.
“I sent my child to a private school so he could have a better foundation,” he said. “But now I feel like I made a mistake. Money is not the problem—the problem is that money has lost its value.”
His concern reflects a wider anxiety among parents who have financed school expenses through borrowing.
“The first loan paid the school fees. The second covered the uniform. The third—I have not even figured out how I will ask for it,” he said.
Education costs outpace incomes
Many families in the capital are now being forced to choose between investing in their children’s education and meeting basic household needs.
The beginning of an academic year has traditionally been a time when parents spend heavily on school supplies and fees. But inflation, currency depreciation and rising living costs have made the burden increasingly difficult to manage, particularly for low- and middle-income households.
Ethiopia’s annual inflation rate eased slightly to 15.1% in August from 15.3% in July, according to the Ethiopian Statistical Service. Yet prices remain far above levels that many households can comfortably absorb, especially for non-food items such as school materials, clothing and transport.
For parents, official inflation figures often fail to capture the immediate cost of preparing children for school. Exercise books, bags, shoes, uniforms and stationery have all increased in price, while salaries and household incomes have not kept pace.
Worknesh, who lives with her three children in a small rented house near Saris Abo, said she has abandoned plans to buy new school supplies this year. Instead, she is repairing worn uniforms, bags and shoes from the previous academic year.
“My salary only covers house rent and daily meals. There is nothing left over,” said Worknesh, who works as a secretary at a private company.
Her husband died four years ago, leaving her to raise three children alone. She said she had managed to keep them in private school for several years, partly to fulfil her late husband’s wish. This year, however, she has decided to transfer all three children to government schools.
“I am not making a choice; I am surrendering,” she said, looking at a framed photograph of her children and her late husband.
Uniforms and books become costly
A market assessment by Capital at Akaki and Addisu Gebeya found that parents reported price increases ranging from 200 birr to 700 birr for school bags and uniforms. Depending on the grade level, school and type of fabric, uniforms are now selling for as much as 4,000 birr.
For many households, that amount represents a significant share of monthly disposable income.
The pressure has intensified since Ethiopia’s shift to a market-based foreign-exchange system in July 2024. The reform allowed banks to negotiate foreign-exchange rates more freely, but it was followed by a substantial depreciation of the birr, increasing the local-currency cost of imported goods and inputs.
School supplies are particularly exposed because many items, including stationery, synthetic fabrics, school bags and equipment, rely on imports or imported raw materials. The higher cost of foreign currency has therefore been passed through the supply chain to retailers and, ultimately, parents.
Marta Abera, a mother shopping for school supplies, described the situation with a mixture of frustration and resignation.
“If I struggle this much just to meet the school needs of one child, parents educating two or more children must be in a state of deep anxiety,” she said.
Marta said prices for erasers, sharpeners, exercise books, school bags and lunch boxes had doubled in some shops. She also pointed to shortages of certain products.
“We have reached a point where walking in with cash is not enough to buy things,” she said.
Private schools often require multiple exercise books for each subject, adding another financial burden. Parents may be asked to buy separate books for Amharic, English, mathematics, handwriting, drawing and other activities.
“For one subject, I was asked to provide three exercise books,” Marta said. “That means at least nine books for three subjects alone. For a family with several children, the cost becomes overwhelming.”
Emebet Teklu, whom Capital met at a stationery shop near Bole, said supplies were not only expensive but also difficult to find.
“School supplies are hard to find. When items are available, they have drastically increased in price,” she said.
She said a 50-page exercise book that sold for 70 birr last year now costs more than 100 birr. Retailers, she added, often say that imported products are out of stock or arrive at much higher prices.
“Since we bought them at inflated prices, we are forced to sell them at higher prices too,” she said.
Private-school pressure
The rising demand for private education has added to household pressure. Many parents choose private schools because of concerns about class sizes, resources, instructional quality and learning outcomes in public schools.
However, the pursuit of a perceived better education often pushes families to spend beyond their means. Fees, uniforms, transport, exercise books and other requirements can quickly consume a large part of household income.
Some economic observers argue that families need to align education and consumption decisions more closely with their actual financial capacity. However, parents say such advice overlooks a difficult reality: choosing a government school is often not viewed as a simple financial adjustment, but as a decision that may affect a child’s future opportunities.
Demse Lakeu, an economic consultant, said inflation was testing the endurance of parents across the country.
“Inflation is set to test the endurance of parents because this happens every year and finding a solution has eluded us,” Demse told Capital. “We have seen it in Addis Ababa, but the problem is much worse in other parts of the country.”
He said government action to stabilise prices and protect household purchasing power would remain critical.
“The erosion of purchasing power is an additional challenge for parents,” he said. “The government’s role will be crucial. Citizens right now seem to have run out of options.”
Public-school safety net
Amid the rising financial pressure, social-support programmes are becoming increasingly important for urban households.
The Addis Ababa City Government has operated a school-feeding initiative in public elementary schools since 2019. The programme began as a pilot project serving around 70,000 children and was designed to address hunger while improving school attendance, nutrition and educational outcomes.
Parents and education-sector observers say such support can reduce the risk of absenteeism and school dropout among children from low-income families. School meals can also ease some of the daily financial pressure on households struggling with food costs.
However, stakeholders argue that food support alone is not enough. They say public education must also continue to improve in quality, facilities, learning materials and teacher support if it is to provide a credible alternative for families leaving private schools because of cost.
For parents such as Hailemichael, the issue is not merely the price of a uniform or an exercise book. It is the fear that financial hardship may determine the kind of education their children receive—and, ultimately, the opportunities available to them.
As another academic year begins, families across Addis Ababa are making the same calculation: how much they can afford to spend today, and how much of their children’s future they can still protect.
