Cash-strapped parents claim school supplies up by 30%

Buying school uniforms and other supplies for the new school year is putting a bigger dent in parents' wallets this year due to the GST and decline in the ringgit. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, December 28, 2015.Wan Amri Wan Noridan is grateful for his part-time online business as without it, he does not know if he could have afforded the kit for his two primary school children this year.

The 34-year-old accounts executive told The Malaysian Insider how the price of school uniforms, shoes and bags has gone up by as much as 30% this year compared with 2014 prices.

Retailers admitted this, claiming that a weak ringgit, the goods and services tax (GST) and higher prices for cloth – the primary component of school uniforms – have all resulted in the price increase.

“Without my side business, it would have been very difficult to save up enough at the end of the month to buy my children the supplies they need,” said Wan Amri, who lives in Kelana Jaya.

He estimates that he has spent close to RM500 for clothes and stationery for his Primary Five daughter and Primary Two son.

“I have also set aside RM100 each for their school fees,” Wan Amri said, adding that he also expects to pay about RM1,600 in pre-school fees for his two youngest kids.

“When I took a break from my online business and only held a full-time job, it was difficult making ends meet. Thankfully I was able to get back to it,” said Wan Amri, who sells health products online.

And Wan Amri is not alone in lamenting the rise in the cost of school supplies. Other parents The Malaysian Insider spoke to related how some extra income is helping them pay for the needs of their children.

Warehouse worker Abdul Hamid Abdul Rani estimated that he spent an extra RM200 this year on his two secondary school boys and a primary school daughter.

Like Wan Amri, Hamid, who also lives in Kelana Jaya, could not rely just on his full-time salary to pay for their supplies.

“It’s a good thing that my company gave us ample opportunities to do overtime. I have to work at least an extra two hours a day. If I don’t have family commitments at home, I will also work on weekends,” the 48-year-old Hamid said.

Last year, he spent RM400 to RM500 on all the three children but this year it went up to RM700.

Wan Amri and Hamid each have a combined household income of RM7,000 and below, which, according to government calculations, put them in the middle income band.

The 11th Malaysia Plan groups households that earn between RM3,800 and RM8,300 as middle income or the middle 40% bracket (M40).

But even parents with incomes that are ranked as being in the upper 20% bracket had to be extra cautious on spending for school supplies.

“Our salary raises are not enough to keep up with the rate of price increases,” said Sam Phuah, 42, of Petaling Jaya, who has a combined household income of RM10,000.

“My spending went up by RM300 this year compared with last year or almost 30%,” said Phuah, referring to how much he spent this year on his two primary school daughters.

Among the things that went up were bags (RM300 for two bags with rollers) and school bus fares (RM240 for both girls).

Parents with children moving from primary to secondary school, such as Ganapathy Santhiran, had to spend the most. Instead of being able to reuse old uniforms, they had to buy new sets.

“We also have to be careful about the type we buy. One time, a teacher did not allow my son to wear a pair of shoes I bought because it did not meet the school’s guidelines.

“But I had checked with the store and they said it was acceptable,” said the 47-year-old businessman from Klang, who spent about RM1,000 on his two sons, one of whom is entering Form One and the other in Primary Five.

Tailor Mohd Fauzi Ismail said costs for producing school uniforms have gone up this year due to the high price of cotton and cloth which had to be imported.

“The price increase is the worst I have seen,” said Fauzi, who claimed that the price per metre of cloth has gone up to as high as RM8.

A survey by The Malaysian Insider last year found that cloth for uniforms cost RM3.80 per metre.

“We’ve tried to keep the price increase on our uniforms to about 10%. We don’t like burdening parents either and whatever increases we can absorb, we absorb,” said Fauzi, who has operated a store in Shah Alam for 20 years.

Jackie Tang, who sells mainly school bags, said prices at almost all retailers have gone up by 30% since these items are all imported from China.

“Only about 10% of the bags sold in Malaysia are made in Indonesia but the rest is from China. So when the ringgit goes down, it is more expensive to import,” said Tang, who has been in business for 10 years.

Since Tang is also a supplier, she is able to keep price increases to a minimum.

“Other retailers have to mark up prices when they buy from a supplier who will also charge them GST.

“Some retailers can charge their customers GST but some cannot so they have to hike up their prices to cover the GST charge,” said Tang.

According to the Customs Department, only businesses with an annual turnover of RM500,000 can charge GST to customers.

Although school uniforms are not specifically mentioned as an item in the department’s GST price guide, their separate components – shirts, skirts, songkok, tudung – are listed as items to be imposed the 6% tax.

All stationery is charged GST except for textbooks, exercise books, science exercise books and story books that are part of the education curriculum.

- TMI