Stop the Deceptive Educational Financial Receipts

 

As parents, we can all agree on one thing: free education is a blessing. 

We are grateful that our children can sit in a classroom without us having to swipe a card for every lesson, but let’s be real, the lucent, deceptive, unnecessary stunt of sending parents financial statements for the so-called “value” of their children’s free education is not gratitude. It’s not transparency, It is repulsive.

Why would a government decide to drop a receipt on parents, itemizing the supposed cost of educating their child, as though we made a financial agreement or signed a payment plan?

We didn’t ask for a bill. We didn’t approve a contract. We didn’t negotiate any terms. So why the invoice? Because that is exactly what it feels like, an invoice disguised as “informational breakdown.” 

A guilt trip wrapped in the packaging of a thank-you note, a backhanded gesture meant to make parents feel indebted for something that is a national responsibility, not a personal favor.

Let’s speak plainly:
Nothing about raising a child is free.
And this “free education” is far from free.

Parents are the ones digging deep into their pockets every year for:

• Expensive uniforms that cost more than some workers’ weekly wages
• Books that strain the budget and empty the bank account
• Daily transportation fees that skyrocket while salaries remain frozen
• Lunch money that seems to climb every term
• Supplies, devices, exams, extracurriculars, all while trying to keep a roof overhead

So no, we do not need a “receipt” from the government telling us the value of what they have failed repeatedly to properly manage.

Maybe the government should start receiving receipts from the parents instead.

Receipts for the countless days children stay home because buildings are unsafe or infested.

Receipts for classroom shortages, no teachers, slow repairs, broken systems, outdated materials, overcrowding, shutdowns, industrial actions, and disruptions that block children from learning.

Receipts for the stress, the inconvenience, the emotional and financial sacrifices parents make when the education system collapses, again.

Parents should start sending invoices of their own:

• A detailed breakdown of the transportation costs to and from school
• A receipt for every overpriced uniform
• A receipt for every textbook that becomes obsolete after one term
• A bill for every day a child misses school due to preventable government failures
• A breakdown of emotional labor, sleepless nights, and juggling acts required to compensate for an educational system running on fumes

And while we’re at it, maybe the government can send us the receipts that actually matter:

• The wages of leaders, ministers, and cabinet members
• The allowances, benefits, travel expenses, and perks
• The budgets assigned, spent, wasted, or “missing. ”
• The cost of every failed project
• The value of every decision that did not serve the people
• The detailed breakdown of how taxpayers’ money is truly being used, and misused, because if we’re going to talk about transparency, let’s talk about transparency everywhere.
• Not just when it’s convenient. Not just when it guilt-shames parents.
• Not just when the government wants applause for doing what is already their duty.
  This financial breakdown letter was not enlightening it was insulting.
  A distraction. A psychological tactic. A glorified PR stunt masquerading as accountability.
  If the goal was to stop crime…
  If the goal was to fix children’s behavior…
  If the goal was to uplift the nation…
  A receipt won’t do it.
  A functioning education system will.
  We don’t need statements showing how much the government “spent on our children.”
  We need investments that actually reach the children.
  We need systems that work.
  We need leaders who lead, not leaders who invoice.
  Until then, they can keep the receipts.
  Because the parents of this nation have their own, and trust me, the balance is overdue.