The national statistics office said school supplies such as pens and books increased by 5-13% in July last year compared to the previous year.
Lela Griessbach is a teacher from Berlin who juggles taking care of her two children and preparing for her university classes. Every year, she and her husband receive a list from the school of the materials they need before her children return to class. It can cost up to 300 euros per child.
“When I first saw the list, I was surprised because there are a lot of things you have to buy,” Griessbach told ‘Euronews‘. “On the one hand, it’s fine. It’s a very good approach and you know what your child needs, but it’s very expensive.”
Free canteens in Berlin
Families with children in schools face rising costs in Germany.
The National Statistics Office He said school supplies such as pens and books increased by 5 to 13% in July last year compared to the previous year.
Parents who need financial support can obtain195 euros for material school per child, but the Child Protection Association Berlin says that is not enough. The backpacksespecially those designed specifically to protect children’s shoulders and backs, can cost up to 150 euros.
Prices also vary from state to state. In Berlin, the school cafeteria is free up to sixth grade. In Hamburg, they cost a maximum of 4.35 euros.
More and more Germans choose private schools
Students can receive free education in germanyfrom early childhood education to university. However, more and more parents are choosing to pay to send their children to private schools. One expert says this could be due to increase in immigration in Germany.
“When you ask them what is better in private schools, they say the educational program or the curriculum or something like that,” he explains. Marcel Helbigprofessor and director of the Department of Structures and Systems of the Leibniz Institute of Educational Trajectories. “But in most cases of private schools in Germany, the proportion of immigrants, the proportion of poorer children is lowerand that could be an influencing factor,” he told ‘Euronews‘.
Inflation has reached its lowest level in more than three years in Germanybut Griessbach, a working mother, continues to feel financial pressure.
He says that parents receive more support in his native Georgia, where family members have a more important role in caring for children. “I have the impression that costs are increasing because everything is more expensive. So I think it automatically becomes more expensive every year,” Griessbach said. On top of all the costs, she also has to pay for an after-hours babysitter while she works.
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For more information, you can watch the Euronews report in the player above.
Additional sources • Enrique Barrueco (Voice-over)
