The city of Maroua is gradually coming alive as the 2025–2026 school year approaches. Yet, unlike the usual scenes of crowded markets and bustling bookstores, this year, parents’ turnout remains timid.
The reason lies in the seasonal calendar: during this rainy period, farmers face the harsh “lean season” between July and September, when food reserves are depleted. It is a particularly difficult time for families.
“Right now, the priority is to feed the children before thinking about school supplies,” confided a parent met at Maroua’s market.
These hardships are compounded by soaring food prices. Rice, maize, millet—everything has become unaffordable for many households. The dilemma is cruel: ensure the daily meal or buy school notebooks and uniforms.
Even civil servants, supposedly enjoying relative stability, are not spared. Their salaries, often swallowed up by debts contracted to feed their families, leave very little for back-to-school preparations.
“As soon as the salary comes in, you first have to pay back the creditors. It’s only afterward that we see what’s left for the children,” explained a teacher in Maroua.
Between debt, the lean season, and inflation, parents are struggling to salvage their children’s education. Some choose to postpone buying supplies until the following month, while others resign themselves to reusing old notebooks and clothes due to lack of means.
“It’s hard, but we have no choice. The children must go to school,” said a mother, determined despite it all.
In Maroua, as in several towns in the Far North region of Cameroon, the 2025–2026 school year is therefore shaping up under the sign of sacrifice.
A reality that highlights the scale of the social challenges facing thousands of families, but also the resilience of parents who, despite the obstacles, refuse to give up on their children’s future.
