- Weekly price hikes place consumers and manufacturers in a tough spot
Take for instance the price of an A4 sheet – the go-to dimension when it comes to getting printouts from one’s neighbourhood shop – which has been steadily climbing this year. To put things into perspective, a black and white printout that cost Rs. 8 last year around this time now costs Rs. 22.
A print services provider on Peradeniya Road, Kandy, informed The Sunday Morning that during the first week of September their pricing for a single-sided printout had been Rs. 15, whereas earlier last week they had to revise the price to Rs. 22.
“We understand the budget constraints people are facing these days. When they come to obtain our services, they are not keeping tabs on the price hikes of raw materials, which the public never is alerted to, unlike for price hikes in items such as fuel, gas, bread, eggs, or poultry. This entire week, when people came to get printouts or copies, we had to ease them into the new prices. At times we bear the loss and accept the money that they have in hand,” the Proprietor of Mr. Print A. Hussein explained.
Schools attempt frugality
This week, the price of a ballpoint pen at retail stores stands at Rs. 30, while wholesale traders are issuing stocks at Rs. 25 per unit in Pettah. Given the increasing price hikes, how are parents and teachers managing with regard to guiding children, especially those in the primary grades, when they have to utilise stationery in their day-to-day learning activities?
Earlier this year, the primary section of a popular girls’ school had advised parents that they need not purchase the booklist set for Grade 2 students, as the exercise books purchased for Grade 1 during the previous year had not been utilised fully.
“Children were attending lessons online, schools remained shut for the greater part of the year, and most activities were undertaken at home on activity sheets that the parents or guardians had to provide printouts of. Therefore, we decided that the booklist that had been purchased for the previous year can be used for Grade 2,” a primary school teacher explained.
Sandali Pethiyagoda, a parent whose child studies in Grade 2, shared that she had found it a relief when the teacher had announced that they need not purchase books for this year and that only the shortfall would be required, as the school would allow students to use the stationery purchased for Grade 1.
“I only had to get the uniforms stitched and buy school shoes, for which the cost came close to Rs. 7,000. Of course, while pencils, colouring pencils, and erasers are the most used items, I have explained to my son that we have to be mindful of how often he has to sharpen his pencils and to limit the number of mistakes he makes when writing or drawing so that the use of the eraser can be reduced. Today, a pencil is priced at Rs. 20 and an eraser costs between Rs. 10-20 based on the quality.”
Pethiyagoda explained: “Although it might seem like a small amount to pay, only those with kids in primary school will understand how fast they go through such items.”
Adopting technology
The use of stationery in schools which are becoming updated with the latest technological advancements appears to be decreasing gradually, with students allowed to submit their assignments via email or through various file sharing applications. However, this too is not always feasible given the increasing costs of devices and with internet service providers, having increased their prices with the 20% hike in mobile and data tariffs, which was implemented earlier this month.
“When we look back at the attempts that previous governments had made to distribute tabs or even laptops for students, such ideas or initiatives were not well received. Today, after a pandemic which prompted our general and university education to switch to distance and online learning methods within a span of weeks, we are now realising that parents and trade unions should not oppose all initiatives suggested for the betterment of the country’s future. No one anticipated that Sri Lanka would face a socioeconomic crisis of this level where there would be a shortage of foreign currency to import goods. At least now we need to look at digitising education, but at a higher cost,” renowned educationist Dr. Sujata Gamage stated.
According to Dr. Gamage, the pandemic has involuntarily prepared our education system to consider possible alternatives such as going paperless. However, she pointed out that the Department of Education, along with the Department of Examinations, should now figure out a method of carrying out assessments online and whether national examinations too could be digitised, which would make the examination process more efficient.
Printing industry concerns
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka Association of Printers President Peter Dekker last year had raised concerns about their inability to clear raw material consignments from the Port due to banks failing to open Letters of Credit for their members.
Although the Association had requested the Minister of Industries to consider waiving the demurrage cost that they would have to incur due to the foreign currency deficit, no favourable answer had been provided until now.
This has pushed printing material suppliers as well as stationery manufacturers to increase the prices of their products.
In February this year, the Sri Lanka Book Publishers’ Association indicated that it would have to cut down on the production of school exercise books by 70%, as it was unable to obtain the necessary raw materials.
The cost of paper alone has increased by 150% and manufacturers are once again requesting the authorities to intervene and fix the stationery production supply chain. Failing this, the country will face a shortage in exercise books that will further increase their price point, imposing a financial burden on those who have to purchase these products.
Despite several attempts being made by The Sunday Morning to contact the Minister of Industries for comment, no response was received at the time of going to print.