Display mode (Doesn't show in master page preview)

7 May 2019

Thai Economy

Parents in Bangkok Metropolitan Area are expected to spend around THB28.2 billion to get their children ready for school year 2019 (Current Issue No.2986)

คะแนนเฉลี่ย

           During the back-to-school season, consumers with school-age children normally have higher expenditures associated with their children's education. KResearch's survey finds that over 54.2 percent of parents are concerned about the amount of their cash flow to spend during the 2019 semester; however, the rate is lower than the result from the last year's survey. The sample groups are worried about their financial liquidity for many reasons, including insufficient savings, increased daily expenses, more expensive educational supplies, and the fact that some of these parents have more children attending school.  It is worth noting that around five percent of respondents who are concerned about their finances said their main source of funds for their children's education comes from loans and pledging their valuable items.

                 KResearch reports that although most parents are worried about their financial liquidity, the survey finds that their budget for their children's education during the 2019 semester remains mostly “unchanged" from the previous year.   Parents expect to increase their spending in tutoring/cramming schools and enhancing other skills of their children (music, drawing and sports, etc.), followed by books and educational supplies. Meanwhile, the category that parents are expected to decrease their spending more than others is school uniform.

             KResearch also finds that prices of most goods and services such as tuition fees, education service fees and school activities at both public and private schools for the upcoming semester have not risen. Manufacturers and distributors of school-related merchandise such as uniforms, books and school supplies have cooperated with the government agencies in keeping prices of education-related merchandise unchanged. Additionally, modern-trade retailers and stores have organized special promotions to market affordable brands to address the need of customer groups with a limited budget and high expenditure burden.

                   KResearch projects that during the first semester of 2019, parents in Bangkok Metropolitan Area are expected to spend approximately THB28.22 billion for their children's education (from kindergarten to the high school level), up around 2.6 percent compared to their spending in the corresponding period last year. The projection has incorporated the government's measures to help low-income parents through a welfare card worth THB500 for each child (one-off payment) and tax allowances for purchasing education-related items such as school uniforms and sports gear for up to THB15,000 from May 1-June 30, 2019.