Going back to school comes with a paradox: public education is free, but entering it is not. A survey of prices in Tirana shows that if a family has to buy a backpack, stationery, sneakers and a basic wardrobe from scratch, the September basket can reach around 37,200 lekë for one child. For two or more children, the bill becomes a hefty one…
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September has its own way of making small expenses seem large. A notebook costs little. So does a pencil. Even a shirt, bought on its own, does not seem like a major blow to the budget.
But school does not start with a notebook, a pencil or a shirt. It starts with a list. And lists have the unpleasant habit of producing a completely different figure when added up from the one a parent had in mind when entering the shop.
The same basket includes notebooks, pens, colored pencils, rulers, pencil cases, drawing materials, book covers and dozens of other items costing from a few dozen to several hundred lekë each.
Then comes the backpack, usually one of the biggest purchases at the start of the school year. After that come sneakers, trousers, shirts, sportswear and, depending on the school, a uniform.
And this is only the first day. Going back to school is not a single expense, but the beginning of a small series of payments that continue even after the first bell has rung.
A material requested later by the teacher, another notebook, photocopies, supplies for a project, a pair of sneakers needed only for physical education or an item of clothing that was missing from the initial purchases.
In families with two or three children, these expenses do not always multiply directly, because some items can be passed down from one child to another, but the pressure on the budget increases significantly.
For a family that can reuse last year’s backpack, buy only a few clothes or wait for sales, the cost may be considerably lower.
For another family, where the child’s shoe size has changed, the backpack has worn out and the wardrobe needs updating, September effectively starts from zero. Thus, the cost of schooling is determined not only by the prices of the items, but often also by the economics of reuse.
A backpack is no longer just a backpack
In the school-supplies market, the difference between what is necessary and what we want can amount to several thousand lekë. The backpack is perhaps the clearest example. School models published online range from around 1,200–3,000 lekë.
At another shop, the range widens, from around 2,900 lekë for some models to 10,900–11,800 lekë for wheeled backpacks or licensed models. A Seven backpack published by one of Tirana’s stationery shops costs 6,990 lekë. For our calculation, we used 6,000 lekë as an indicative price, a level between the more affordable alternatives and the more expensive products.
The wide gap between 1,200 and nearly 12,000 lekë shows that a school backpack is no longer a product with a single function and an approximately fixed price. The same category includes products aimed at entirely different budgets and requirements. One family may take care of this part of the list for less than 2,000 lekë, while another may spend five or six times more on the backpack alone.
The price varies according to the material, size, internal compartments, ergonomic design, presence of wheels and additional accessories. But that is not all. Part of the difference is linked to the brand and the license. Film and animation characters, sports clubs or well-known brands move the product from the category of an ordinary school tool to an item for which consumers also pay for the design and the name.
This has also changed the way backpacks are bought. For parents, the criteria may be weight, durability and the possibility of using the backpack for more than one year. For children, the decision may start with an entirely different criterion: the character, color, design or what their classmates have chosen. The point at which these two demands meet also determines how much will be spent.
For the family, the choice involves another calculation as well: how many years the backpack will be used. A backpack costing 6,000 or 7,000 lekë that lasts for two or three years may prove more economical than a cheaper model that must be replaced every September. But this calculation works only if the backpack does not become too small, does not get damaged and, perhaps most importantly for children, continues to appeal to them the following year.
Notebooks are cheap. The basket is not
Stationery is the best example of September arithmetic. A 32-page notebook costs between 25 lekë and 150 lekë, depending on the quality of the paper and the cover. Pencil cases cost around 1,000–2,500 lekë, while packs of pencils or pens can cost from several hundred lekë to around 1,200 lekë, depending on the model and brand.
Then come colored pencils, rulers, a compass, a sharpener, an eraser, glue, scissors and a drawing notebook. Each item seems insignificant. Together, they are not. In Monitor’s indicative basket, stationery and basic materials are calculated at around 11,000 lekë. When other items are added, the burden of the payment for parents of one child increases.
But the most expensive part of going back to school may not be what goes into the backpack at all. It is what the child wears. A survey of clothing and sports-shoe retailers shows that a children’s shirt often sells for around 1,500–3,600 lekë, while children’s sneakers range widely: from around 3,600 lekë for Champion models, to 5,500–7,900 lekë for Nike models and up to 10,900 lekë for some higher-end models. For teenagers, the cost can easily include sneakers priced at 6,500–10,900 lekë.
Two children? A different problem
For a family that does not need to replace the backpack, sneakers or the entire wardrobe, the bill may be considerably lower. This is precisely why the 34,200 lekë should not be read as an amount every parent will pay. It shows how much a relatively complete “reset” for the start of school costs, using mid-range products.
For two children, the same basket exceeds 60,000 lekë, meaning it is more than one minimum wage. Compared with the average wage in our country, which according to INSTAT is 90,119 lekë, the basket for one child is equivalent to around 38% of the average wage; for two children, the burden reaches around 76% of it.
The most direct way to reduce the September bill remains reuse: a backpack, a pair of sneakers or clothes that can be used for another year can significantly reduce the basket. While families try to buy only what needs replacing, for retailers “Back to School” is one of the major consumer seasons, when offers, sets and licensed products seek to expand the list beyond basic needs./ Monitor
Note/ The basket is a calculation, not official statistics. Prices were reviewed on September 11, 2026, based on offers published online in Tirana and observations at shops. For items with a broad price range, a representative value from the mid-range segment was used, rather than the arithmetic average of the entire market. The total assumes that the main items are bought from scratch; families that reuse backpacks, clothes or shoes will have a lower bill. Books are not included, although for most families they represent a significant cost.
