Back to school doubles the burdens of Moroccan families after summer and Eid al-Adha

Agadir24

Moroccan families, especially those with limited income, face increasing financial challenges due to the successive economic burdens associated with fixed annual dates, which have become more difficult with the rise in the prices of various goods and services.

After overcoming the expenses of Eid al-Adha and the summer vacation, these families are facing the challenges of the school year, which is about to start in a week, at a time when news is circulating about the increase in the prices of some school supplies and materials.

In contrast, researchers and economic experts believe that consumer spending by Moroccan families accelerated during the summer, noting that this could lead many Moroccans to fall “victim to the spiral of borrowing” to pay for school entry expenses.

In response to the issue, economic researcher Mohamed Jadri revealed that “the purchasing power of citizens, especially those with limited income and the middle class, has deteriorated since April 2021,” noting that “global inflation has greatly affected broad segments of society.”

Jadri explained that “there are broad segments of society, especially those with limited income and the middle class, who cannot pay their expenses at the end of the month, which forces them to borrow from banking institutions or from acquaintances and relatives.”

According to the same speaker, “recent years have revealed that expenses related to religious occasions and school holidays have greatly affected the purchasing power of Moroccan families,” stressing that “the succession of Ramadan, Eid al-Adha, summer holidays, and then the start of the school year have resulted in expenses that burden a group of families.”

In light of this situation, the economic analyst believes that many families “have no alternative but to borrow,” which he described as “an endless cycle.” Although it “revitalizes the activity of banking institutions, it burdens borrowing families and greatly affects their economic life.”

It is worth noting that this difficult economic situation experienced by Moroccan families, since most of them belong to the weak or middle classes with limited income, comes in a context characterized by inflation and high prices, which requires these families to plan rationally and realistically to manage the income they have, while economic experts focus on the importance of saving as part of the solution to cover future expenses.