The 2026-2027 school year opens, for many Cameroonian families, against a backdrop of tight budgets. The National Institute of Statistics (INS) estimates the average annual spending on a child's education at around 75,000 FCFA — a little over 110 euros.
That amount covers registration fees, supplies, uniforms and the unexpected costs that build up over the year. For a family with several children in school, September's bill quickly runs into hundreds of thousands of francs.
The timing does not help: the price of school supplies often rises as the start of term approaches, and some items become harder to find just when demand is highest.
In response, the Cameroonian market increasingly favours local brands of notebooks and materials, seen as more affordable and suited to teachers' requirements — a purchasing-power trade-off as much as a consumer choice.
Support schemes exist, notably family allowances paid to members of the National Social Insurance Fund, but they cover only part of the spending and do not reach informal-sector households, who are in the majority.
Every year, then, the start of the school year remains a purchasing-power test for families — and a marker of the gap between the real cost of schooling and the means available to a large share of the population.
