By Dennis Peprah
Sunyani, (Bono), Sept. 15, GNA-Some concerned families in the Sunyani Municipality have called for government subsidy to control the high cost of educational materials, as the 2026/2027 academic calendar commences.
According to them, it was now a burden for some families who had between three and four children to procure text and exercise books, as well as other educational essentials for their children and wards.
In an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Sunyani, the parents also expressed worry that the subject courses for the school children were also too much, urging the Ghana Education Service (GES) to do something about that.
Madam Leticia Amponsah Gyan, a trader noted that her children could not complete all the books she bought for them in the last academic year, urging the government’s intervention to make the text and exercise books affordable.
“Some of the books for my children are now a waste,” Mr Bernard Donkor, a commercial driver also stated, adding that: “I have five children and their books alone for the academic year is close to GHC7,000”.
He added that: “In fact, some parents who have between one and two children don’t feel the heat now, but I must tell you that the heat is too much and the government must intervene now.”
“So, when you raise the issue about the cost of books at PTA meetings, some of the parents seem not to bother because their children are only few and they also have good jobs,” Mr Donkor stated.
Dr Thomas Kyere, a medical consultant at the 21st Clinic in Sunyani and specialised in Sciatica, expressed similar sentiments saying that the government ought to do something to control the rising prices of textbooks for basic school children.
He noted that if nothing was done about the price, that alone could deny many school children, especially those in rural areas for formal education.
“Even the last time I found out, the price of a textbook for my two-year-old child was GH₵70”, Dr Kyere worried.
He questioned that: “How much do you think we will spend if you are buying 10 textbooks for a nursery two child and how much more we are going to spend on books alone for a class one and upper primary”.
He stressed that: “The high cost of textbooks is becoming a burden for families and the government must intervene”.
GNA
Editor: Dennis Peprah/Linda Asante Agyei
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