Costa Rica News – With a growing number of the population living under the poverty line in Costa Rica, it is getting harder for many families to purchase the required supplies to send their children to school.
School supplies make free education not so free. This year, the cost rose by ¢8000, up to ¢80,000 or about $160 for elementary school and ¢97,000 for secondary school. Books are added to this price, as is tuition in the case of private schools.
The experts recommend going around to compare prices of supplies. A flute, for example, costs ¢1.800 in one store and ¢3,475 in another. In some stores, products identical in use can be up to 93% higher in cost.
These stores know that the supplies are required and try to make as much a profit as possible on them. I guess their hearts of stone only see the almighty dollar, but they are just following the example of the Costa Rican government, Recope and ICE.
Even the cheapest backpacks cost ¢10,000 and the 16 required notebooks ¢23,000. If you are buying artistic notebooks featuring favorite characters, they can be ¢2,500 each. To save, consider reusing supplies and uniforms still in good condition.
Some stores have not followed norms set up by MEIC, the Ministry of Economy.
They have 30 days to make the necessary adjustments before being fined, but you can avoid these stores by knowing the market and the normal prices and materials.
