The start of the school year is once again putting Moroccan families under financial pressure as parents face the rising costs of tuition, registration fees, school supplies, uniforms and transportation.
For many households, returning to school has become an annual struggle to balance education expenses with the cost of housing, food, health care and other everyday needs.
In Tangier, Rachid El Ghazi, a salaried worker and father of two primary school children, said the start of the academic year has become a major strain on his family’s budget.
“Back-to-school expenses put significant pressure on household budgets because of the rising costs of books, clothing and tuition and registration fees at private schools,” El Ghazi told Hespress AR.
For families who send their children to private schools, he said, tuition is only part of the cost. Books, school supplies, uniforms and transportation can add significantly to the overall bill, along with additional educational services offered by some schools during the academic year.
The financial burden has become heavier for El Ghazi’s family as his second child reached school age, effectively doubling education-related expenses at a time when household spending on housing, food and health care is also rising.
His experience reflects a broader dilemma for Moroccan families, many of whom are turning to private education amid concerns about the quality of public schools and a lack of confidence in the public education system.
For some parents, the additional financial burden is seen as a price worth paying to secure what they consider better educational opportunities for their children.
Bouazza Kharrati, president of the National Consumer Protection Federation, said the start of the school year represents one of several periods during which household expenses peak.
Moroccan families face particularly heavy spending during Ramadan, Eid al-Adha, the summer season and the start of the academic year, Kharrati told Hespress AR.
“These periods put significant pressure on families, particularly middle- and low-income households, which often find themselves forced to take out loans to cover their needs,” he said.
Kharrati said the growing activity of consumer lending companies reflects the financial difficulties facing households, arguing that incomes increasingly fail to cover expenses throughout the year.
Some families, he said, struggle to make it through the first half of the year before turning to borrowing to cover expenses for the remaining months.
Middle-class families who choose private schools face particular difficulties because of rising tuition and related costs, Kharrati said.
He alleged that some private schools initially attract families with relatively affordable fees before costs increase as children progress through successive grades. Because parents may be reluctant to move their children to another school after they have become accustomed to an institution, families can become effectively tied to the school, he said.
Kharrati also criticized what he described as the compulsory purchase of additional services by some private schools, including school transportation.
He said such services should comply with the regulations governing the sector, noting that school transportation is subject to Morocco’s legal framework governing road transport.
He also questioned the practice of requiring parents to pay additional fees for school insurance.
Kharrati argued that requiring parents to purchase insurance for their children while they are on school premises raises consumer protection concerns and questioned whether schools should instead bear responsibility for insurance covering people on their premises.
The consumer advocate also criticized private schools that require parents to purchase textbooks directly from the institution.
He described the practice as a form of prohibited conditional selling under Morocco’s Consumer Protection Law No. 31-08.
Parents, he said, should be free to purchase textbooks from a seller of their choice rather than being required to buy them from the school.
As Moroccan families prepare for another school year, the rising cost of education is adding another layer to household financial pressures, particularly for middle- and lower-income families already struggling to keep pace with the broader cost of living.
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