At the start of each school year parents make the same complaints about the high cost of sending children back to school properly dressed and equipped. Based on the division of the average salaries that is established by the Central Bank for a family in the lowest 5% whose salary averages RD$11,457 and with one child at the primary level in a public school, they will spend RD$1,775. This if they purchase the least expensive supplies available on the market, such as a shirt or sweater for RD$100, pants at RD$200, a backpack at RD$250, another RD$100 for underwear, RD$400 for shoes, RD$100 for a lunchbox, RD$125 for a belt and RD$200 on notebooks, pencils, pencil sharpeners and erasers, plus another RD$300 on sports clothes. This does not include textbooks because the Ministry of Education supplies them, otherwise they would have to spend a further RD$3,000, which would increase their budget to RD$4,775.
If this same family has two children in primary and secondary school they have to spend three times as much, since the costs of the uniforms, shoes and other school supplies increase with the age of the student, as well as the quality of the uniforms. The expenditure always depends on social class, the number of children and the grade the children are in, which influences the type of school that they go to. The mother of a child in the second grade of primary school who studies at a private school in a barrio in the province of Santo Domingo, spent more than RD$8,000 on books, uniforms and supplies. “This is abusive,” was the only thing that she could say when she finished paying for the purchases at a local establishment. Meanwhile, another woman, with a son at the same level, but who attends a very well known private school in the National District, spent RD$15,000.