Parents face average €285 cost of back-to-school supplies

Parents in French-speaking schools in Brussels and Wallonia are worried that a new measure requiring schools to provide free basic school supplies will result in rising costs elsewhere.

Until last year, primary schools in the French-speaking education system received €77 per child to purchase basic school materials for years 1 to 3 - instead of parents having to buy the supplies themselves.

From this school year onwards, that subsidy will also be paid for years 4 and 5, but the amount will be more than halved. This year, schools will receive just €29 per child, and next year as little as €24.50.

The Wallonia-Brussels Federation defines primary school supplies as items such as exercise books, folders and pencils. School bags, pencil cases, books, and gym and swimming kits are not included.

According to a survey of 1,146 families, parents of children in years 4 and 5 in French-speaking education currently pay an average of €102 for primary school materials. When factoring in the other types of supplies not included in this amount, the average parent spends €285.

Madeleine Guyot, director-general of the League of Families, which conducted the survey, said the €29 subsidy therefore resulted in a major shortfall. 

“Where are schools supposed to find the money to provide all pupils with this amount of free primary school supplies?” Guyot said.

“To cover the shortfall, schools will have to cut back on other key budget items, unless they increase other costs for parents.”

The survey also found that only 10% of parents buy new supplies of their own accord, outside what is required. 

“We need to move away from the stereotype of the parent who spends money on the latest trendy school supplies for their child,” Guyot said. 

“In the vast majority of cases, parents simply buy what the school asks for.”

In secondary education, which does not receive any subsidies for free school materials, the costs rise even further. According to the survey, parents spend an average of €578 per year in general secondary education, and more than €900 in technical and vocational secondary education.

Part of this higher cost applies to all streams. In secondary education, textbooks are more expensive and a laptop is often required for homework. 

In technical and vocational secondary education, subject-specific materials are added to the supply list, such as kitchen utensils or safety shoes, amounting to an average of an extra €260 to €320.

For this reason, the League of Families has long been calling for the provision of free primary school supplies to be extended to secondary education, in order to alleviate these costs.

The organisation is also calling on the government to closely monitor the implementation of the reduced subsidies in primary education, including through systematic inspections of all schools, and to adjust the funding per pupil if it proves insufficient.

A number of Brussels organisations are trying to fill the gap, in both French and Dutch education, through drives and donations. 

School bags and other school items are being collected and distributed free of charge. 

“In this way, we want to support families while also encouraging re-use,” said Sonia Lhoest of the Donnerie Scolaire de Bruxelles.

Such donation campaigns are being organised in various Brussels municipalities ahead of the start of a new school year. 

In Evere, one giveaway initiative helped 120 children. “Everything’s gone,” said Lea Maes of the non-profit organisation Cor-Via Everna, which organised the campaign and collected all the materials - both new and second-hand. 

“To be able to buy new items, we went round to a few local shops to ask for financial support,” she said.

The non-profit organisation Nasci in Schaerbeek, which supports families living in poverty, is distributing school bags until the end of September. 

“In total, we aim to hand out 400 school bags, all fully stocked,” said Nasci’s Chiara Vanhaverbeke. 

“The contents depend on the child’s age. There’s always a lunchbox and a water bottle inside.

"For nursery-age children, this is supplemented with items such as a biscuit tin and crayons; for older children, with exercise books, highlighter pens, a sports bag and a compass."

Only families receiving support from Nasci are eligible for one of these ready-to-use school bags.

“These are people who live in Brussels and have no income, not even a replacement income,” Vanhaverbeke explained.

“Through our initiative, we want to give the children from these families the feeling that they’re starting on an equal footing, with a new schoolbag and their own four-colour pen, in addition to the ballpoint pen they receive from the school.”

Mike Goudeseune, headteacher of the municipal primary school De Stroomboot in Anderlecht, welcomes these sort of giveaway initiatives. 

“The school does indeed provide everything up to the age of 12: pens, paper, compasses, but not school bags or lunchboxes,” Goudeseune said. 

“And these are basic school supplies, not meant to be taken home. So some extra materials come in very handy.”