Between School Supplies and Household Bills: Lebanon’s Economic Crisis Reshapes the Choices Facing Parents and Children

In the weeks before a new school term, families usually turn their attention to familiar preparations: notebooks, pens, uniforms and the journey to the classroom. In Lebanon, those ordinary tasks have become more difficult for many households. The country’s prolonged economic crisis has left parents weighing educational choices against the rising cost of basic necessities, making the start of the school year a reminder of the pressure on family budgets.

A Reuters Connect report published on October 1 described families in Beirut increasingly focusing on essential spending as the cost of education continued to climb. Some parents were turning toward public schools rather than private institutions, seeking a more affordable way to keep their children learning. The report illustrated how a national economic crisis can become part of the daily decisions made at home.

Education expenses extend beyond tuition fees. Families may need to purchase notebooks, stationery, uniforms, transportation and other supplies. Even items that appear inexpensive individually can become difficult to afford when several children need them at once. For households whose income has failed to keep pace with rising prices, preparing for school can require difficult choices about which expenses can be delayed or reduced.

The pressure also reaches small businesses serving students and schools. A shop selling stationery must pay suppliers for paper, pens, paints and other materials, while customers may have less money available to spend. Shop owners face a familiar dilemma: higher purchasing costs can force them to raise prices, but raising prices may discourage already-strained families from buying what they need.

Lebanon has endured years of financial and economic instability, including a collapse in the value of its currency, rising living costs and weakening purchasing power. The effects have extended across public services and private households. Although the circumstances vary from one family to another, education has become another area where limited resources can narrow the choices available to parents.

Inflation compounds these difficulties. In the Reuters Connect report, economist Jihad Al Hokayem described Lebanon's inflation rate as having reached 17%, comparing it with lower rates in the United States and Europe. The report linked the pressure to structural economic weaknesses, including the country's extensive cash-based economy and limited opportunities for people to protect their savings.

Public schools can offer an important alternative when private education becomes unaffordable, but the shift is not always straightforward. Families must consider school availability, transportation, learning resources and whether the chosen institution can meet their children's needs. A greater reliance on public education can also place additional pressure on schools that are already operating with limited resources.

The crisis affects more than the household budget. Education provides children with knowledge, social connections and opportunities that can shape their future employment and independence. When financial hardship makes attendance, supplies or consistent learning difficult, the consequences may extend beyond a single school year. Maintaining access to education therefore matters not only to individual families but also to the country's longer-term economic prospects.

Lebanon's challenges are unfolding against a wider background of disrupted infrastructure, displacement and supply-chain difficulties. A World Bank report released in late August, referenced in the Reuters Connect material, described how escalating conflict had damaged infrastructure and interrupted the country's tentative economic recovery. Such disruptions can affect family income and the availability of essential services, making it harder for households to plan for the months ahead.

For parents, the immediate question is often practical: how can their children continue learning without sacrificing other essentials? The answer may involve public schooling, second-hand supplies, support from relatives or assistance from community organisations. These measures can help individual households, but they cannot replace the need for a more stable economy and adequately supported educational institutions.

The school year continues to arrive with its familiar promise of new lessons and possibilities. In Lebanon, however, that promise now carries an additional burden for families trying to make limited resources stretch further. Protecting access to education will require more than school supplies or short-term assistance; it will depend on whether economic conditions improve enough for families to plan for the future without treating learning as an expense they can no longer sustain.

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### Image Disclaimer

The accompanying images are AI-generated illustrations for editorial use. They do not depict the specific families, children, shops or schools mentioned in the source material.

### Sources

• Reuters Connect