Parents to spend more on books and shoes as prices increased

Parents shop for text books at Khimji Devshi Shah Bookshop in Nyeri Town on December 31, 2013. Parents will have to dig deeper into their pockets as prices of text books are expected to go up as a result of the 16 per cent VAT imposed on books in the VAT Act 2013 and inflation. The prices of shoes have also gone up as as schools re-open on Monday January 6, 2014. PHOTO/JOSEPH KANYI  NATION

In Summary

• Nyeri’s Khimji Devshi Shah Bookshop proprietor Mr Khilan C Shah said local publishers increased their prices from January 1, 2014.
• The current increase is seen to be as a result of the 16% taxation imposed on all books through the VAT Act 2013.
• The government spends approximately 60 per cent of the money allocated on textbook purchase under the free primary education system and the sponsored secondary education.
• With the back to school rush, the prices of shoes have also been increased.

By EVALYNE GITHINJI
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Parents will be forced to dig deeper into their pockets following an increase in the prices of books and shoes as schools re-open Monday.

Speaking to the Nation, Nyeri’s Khimji Devshi Shah Bookshop proprietor Mr Khilan C Shah said local publishers increased their prices from January 1, 2014.

Mr Shah said the local publishers increased the prices by about 10 per cent.

He said the publishers cited high printing cost and inflation as the major causes of the increase in prices.

Mr Shah said the move has negatively affected business since only a limited number of customers are turning up to buy books.

“The average cost of books is about Sh450 which is rather high for most parents to afford,” said Mr Shah.

He said that local publishers have been increasing the prices of books yearly.

VAT EFFECT

However, the current increase is seen to be as a result of the 16% taxation imposed on all books through the VAT Act 2013.

Public schools could feel the effect more as they rely on the free primary education money from the government to buy the books.

The schools may not meet their books requirements unless the government increases its allocation to cater for the increase in books prices.

The government spends approximately 60 per cent of the money allocated on textbook purchase under the free primary education system and the sponsored secondary education.

The imposed 16 per cent value added tax on books and a further approximated 10 per cent increase by publishers may leave many learners unable to afford books.

The matter is rather aggravated by the fact that the syllabus keeps on changing hence the need to restock libraries with updated books.

With the back to school rush, the prices of shoes have also been increased.

According to Bata sales representative in Nyeri Evans Maina, they had increased the prices of shoes due to the high demand.

Mr Maina said the prices of shoes for students increase annually and this year the prices have increased from Sh1599 to Sh1699.