School year preparation

By JIMMY KALEBE and HEZRON KISING
IT’S the time of the year again when school children prepare for the new academic year.
Parents, guardians and relatives are busy ensuring that children have uniforms, stationeries and the items they will need in class.
The National in Lae caught up with some students and their parents shopping for stationeries at Theodist and Seeto Kui.
Dad William Kuwoh was accompanied by Finola who will be in grade five at Tisol, Osan in grade one and Ralph a home-school student who was excited to be following his elder siblings around.
The Kuwoh family were shopping at Theodist Stationery Ltd at Down Town Lae last Saturday.
Kuwoh said the prices of stationeries were reasonable but could be lower.
He said it was affordable for children attending primary and community schools who did not need too many.
But it was a headache for parents with more than one child attending high and secondary schools who need laptops, calculators, highlighters, biros, folders, text books and a set of school uniforms.
“For tertiary institutions it will be okay for students offered government scholarships, but for those self-sponsored, it will be expensive,” he said.
“It would help a lot if the Government pays half and the parents foot the other half.”
Napo Ones, who has three children and was shopping at Seeto Kui, said it was impossible to buy all the stationery because they were expensive for ordinary people.
He said on top of that, the TFF policy enjoyed by primary and secondary schools has been removed.
It means parents will have to dig deeper into their pockets.