With less than two weeks to go before schools reopen, families are preparing for the annual back-to-school bill — and the gap between public and private education can run into thousands of dirhams.
Books and supplies for a public-school pupil are expected to cost between MAD 400 and MAD 700 this year. In private schools, the bill starts at around MAD 1,400 at primary level and can climb to MAD 4,000 in some establishments.
Booksellers and publishing professionals consulted by Le360 put the average private primary-school bill at MAD 1,400-1,700. For middle school, families can expect to spend MAD 1,700-2,500, while costs at some private high schools exceed MAD 3,000.
Books brought in from France, Spain and the UK can cost MAD 250-600 each. Some CM2 textbooks used in schools that follow the official French national curriculum are priced at around MAD 679, enough to push the complete back-to-school bill for one child towards MAD 4,000 before tuition, registration fees and insurance are counted.
Private schools enroll more than 1.24 million pupils, or about 15% of total enrollment depending on the education level.
Prescribed brands add to the bill
Textbooks are only part of the expense.
Some private schools prescribe specific stationery brands, including Oxford notebooks costing as much as MAD 48 each. With several notebooks and other supplies required, the stationery bill alone can exceed MAD 2,000 per pupil in some cases.
Parents can face further costs when schools direct them towards partner platforms or designated distributors, rather than allowing them to shop independently. Professionals say this can add several hundred dirhams compared with buying the same supplies from independent bookshops.
Retail chains, meanwhile, have rolled out back-to-school bundles combining backpacks, pencil cases and stationery, with prices ranging from MAD 129 to MAD 700 depending on quality and origin.
Booksellers’ associations have cautioned parents against some online promotions advertising discounts of up to 20%, saying the reductions may be calculated from inflated starting prices or apply only to limited quantities.
Public-school bill stays below MAD 700
For families in the public system, the numbers are considerably lower.
Booksellers estimate a total bill of MAD 400-700 for books and supplies across the different school levels, with national textbooks generally priced at MAD 25-50 each.
The public system serves more than 6.77 million pupils across primary, middle and secondary education, rising above seven million when public preschool sections are included.
Costs are further reduced for pupils in Pioneer Schools, where intensive educational-support workbooks and activity books for Amazigh and science subjects are distributed free of charge at primary and middle school levels.
Ministry moves to curb unnecessary purchases
The Education Ministry has also moved to rein in school-supply lists ahead of the 2026-27 academic year.
Instructions sent to regional education academies in late June prohibit schools from requiring unnecessary supplies and require teaching staff to stick to official lists communicated before the end of the previous school year.
The ministry also wants textbooks available from the first day of classes and has called for action on overloaded school bags, some of which weigh more than 20 kg.
The measures come as September spending remains particularly difficult for lower-income households.
According to the High Commission for Planning’s national household living standards survey, back-to-school expenses can exceed half the monthly income of low-income families.
The burden can be heavier in Casablanca and Rabat, where imported books and supplies tend to cost more, pushing families to compare prices, stagger purchases or postpone items they do not immediately need.
