Prices of textbooks in the country are set to hit a record high in the next one week, just a few days before the scheduled reopening of school.
Textbook firms have sent a warning of a looming crisis in the education sector saying that there might be a shortage in the supply of learning materials, further attributing this to the current rise in international freight charges.
The firms state that the new development is as a result of the increased cost of acquiring printing papers and other raw materials used in the printing of textbooks.
They added that they source their materials mostly from Europe, Asia, and Australia, but the cost of acquiring such materials has also surged in those countries.
Logistically, it could cost them roughly Ksh172,650 to import a container but at the moment the cost is close to Ksh1 million.
Kenya Publishers Association (KPA) noted that the freight charges will have a direct impact on the cost imposed to parents.
“We have no choice but to increase our prices because the business environment has really changed,” KPA chairman, Lawrence Njagi, explained.
To shield parents from higher prices, KPA stated that it has submitted a formal request to the government to effect price adjustment on approved books.
Failure by the government to review the prices will see parents dig deeper into their pockets when purchasing textbooks.
The surge in prices comes after the taxman also effected 25 per cent import duty on printing paper, rising from the previous 10 per cent.
“The purpose of this memo is to require the Deputy Commissioner, Risk Management and Post Clearance Audit to carry out an audit and collect all revenue that may have been foregone,” read a memo dated January 27 from the taxman.
Parents may also be forced to pay more in buying uniforms due to current inflation rate which stands at 5.4 per cent.
