Stationery costs surge by 45-75% from last year before Turkey's new school year

As the opening of schools in Turkey is days away, parents preparing for school shopping faced an increase of 40 to 75 percent in stationery supplies compared to last year. One child's stationery costs alone was almost ten percent of the minimum wage.

Thursday August 24 2023 01:52 pm

Duvar English

As Turkey’s 2023-2024 school year will start on Sep. 11, parents will be required to allocate a minimum of 1,000 Turkish Liras (TL) for purchasing stationery supplies for a single child this year, in contrast to the 632 TL expenditure of the previous year.

For a parent earning 11,402 TL ($418) minimum salary, this expenditure corresponds to almost ten percent of their salary.

According to the data of the All Stationers Association (TÜKİD), stationery costs increased by 45 to 75 percent compared to last year, as the daily Dünya reported.

Based on the brands chosen, the cost of the least expensive school bag, previously priced at 175 TL in 2022, is anticipated to be no less than 300 TL for the current year. Additionally, the starting price for items like water bottles and lunch boxes is 90 TL.

The TÜKİD pointed out that certain stationery items are subject to a Value-added tax (VAT) rate of 20 percent while others are taxed at 10 percent, and suggested that these rates should be revised to 10 percent and one percent, respectively.

Transport costs for students surge after increase in taxes and fuel prices

In Istanbul, the fees for school buses have been raised by 51.5 percent, leading to a monthly cost of 1,200 TL for distances of 0-1 kilometer with this adjustment.

In the capital Ankara, annual fares were set at 5,096 liras for 0-3 kilometers, 5,616 liras for 3-6 kilometers, and 6,494 liras for 6-10 kilometers after the increase.

With the latest increase in Turkey’s third biggest province İzmir, the monthly cost for distances ranging from 0-3 kilometers was set at 1,223 TL, while the fee for the longest distance of 0-40 kilometers amounted to 3,105 TL.

Students can travel by using public transport for 7.32 TL in Istanbul, 7.50 TL in Ankara, and 5 TL in İzmir.

Bagel (simit), one of the most accessible snacks for students in all three provinces, increased to 10 liras after the hikes on August. Fruit juice and ayran prices are around 7 liras on average.