Parents in St Ann spent last week purchasing school supplies for their children, but a common complaint among them was that the prices of essential items, particularly khakis and textbooks, were high.

“I usually do 10 suits of khaki, five each for my two boys, but this year I’m doing eight, because I’m not seeing any discounts in the items, not even in the bookstores, so I’m not sure what’s going on. I wish the stuff were a little cheaper,” Jodeen Haye told the
Jamaica Observer as she shopped in Joseph’s Ocho Rios on Tuesday.

“But I work with it because I get value for money,” she said, noting that she is always pleased with the quality of garments available at Joseph’s.

Joseph’s employee Sutania Thomas confirmed that parents have been expressing concerns about prices. However, Store Manager Lisa Broderick said Joseph’s has not increased prices, and the store traffic is similar to what she saw last year.

“Based on my records, the numbers are the same as last year. It has been busy in here right throughout and we haven’t changed the prices of our uniforms since last year, and we have told the parents that the prices are the same,” she said.

Sasha Samuels, another shopper, was seen inside another store looking for school bags.

“I can see that the stores have raised some of the stuff, because before now some of the stuff were cheaper. I realised that they raise the prices on books especially; some places have done it on pens and pencils,” Samuels said. “That is just not right.”

Another mother, whose 14-year-old daughter is on the Programme for Advancement through Health and Education (PATH) and attends a prominent high school, insisted that the prices of books are higher when compared to last year.

“She’s on PATH so I’m trying to get a voucher to see if I can get some help with the booklist. The books are so expensive, and my husband is sick, so it’s basically just me alone. One book for all $4,000, that can’t work,” she said.

“I would like the Government to do something about the prices, because every year it go up,” she added.

An employee at Catalyst bookstore offered a reason for the prices.

“This year the prices are really high because they revised some of the books, and when they come back, the price change —and the parents are complaining a lot,” she told the
Sunday Observer.