School tuition, heating costs burn a hole in parents’ pockets

AMMAN — The beginning of the second semester coincides with nationwide weather depression, exacerbating parents’ financial concerns.  

Some parents say that they are forced to borrow money in order to meet household expenses. Jordanian families, already struggling to shoulder a heavy financial burden, are living “day to day”, report parents.     

According to parents, private schools in Jordan usually divide annual fees between three instalments.  The first is paid prior to the beginning of the academic year, the second in September and the third in the beginning of the second semester, according to parents. 

However, parents say that they also have to pay the next academic year’s registration fees in February.    

“The never-ending school fee instalments — accompanied by other expenses like uniforms, stationary and books — are financially exhausting to parents,” Rawan Abdel Hameed, a mother of three, told The Jordan Times. 

Abdel Hameed added that fees are due at “terrible” times, especially the third instalment, which falls in February when families are burdened by additional heating expenses.  

“Simultaneous heating, stationery, and school expenses leave parents struggling financially at the beginning of the second semester,” Abdel Hameed said. 

Abdel Hameed pays school tuition by borrowing money from her company, which offers an annual zero-interest loan.  She said that her husband also borrows from his company to pay September’s instalment.   

 “We rely heavily on informal lending to meet our financial needs,” Abdel Hameed said. 

Abdallah Daoud, a father of two children, told The Jordan Times that February and September are the toughest months of every year. 

Daoud said that he lives in a debt cycle: “I pay off last month’s debt with this month’s salary, just so I can lend money to secure my family’s needs for this month. The cycle goes on and on.” 

The increased heating expenses in February come right before Ramadan — fasting month for Muslims — bringing households even more expenses, added Daoud.   

 “Parents have to pay off school tuitions in February, income tax has to be reported at the beginning of March and Ramadan starts at the end of March.  Parents don’t have room to breathe in the next couple months,” Daoud said. 

The Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) announced the results of the 2022 Financial Inclusion Survey, which indicated that 14.4 per cent of adults received funding from an official financial institution last year.

Economist Khaled Salameh told The Jordan Times that “the vast majority of Jordanians rely heavily on informal lending” to alleviate financial pressure.

Informal lending comes from the parents’ employers, other family members or “formed groups”, that offer a zero-interest rate policy, said Salameh.