It was the first day of the new school year last Friday, but more than half the students spotted by Shin Min Daily News were wearing their old uniforms and toting their old school bags due to recession woes.

According to a report in the Chinese daily, the situation was markedly different last year - students re-using their school uniforms and school bags were a rare sight.

When questioned by reporters, parents said that they had to they had already spent a significant amount of money on new textbooks and stationery for their children.

As such, parents had to cut down expenses in other areas.

In addition to re-wearing old school uniforms, parents had also asked their children to re-use old exercise books if the books still contained blank pages.

Parents were also reportedly cutting down on their childrens' pocket money.

Textbook woes

Madam Zeng Yu Lian, 42, told the Chinese daily that she had thought her daughter could still use a second-hand textbook for her classes. However, much to her dismay, she had to fork out an extra $100 for a new textbook when the school announced that it had changed their syllabus.

Another parent, Mr Hong Yi Lin, 40, said that he had originally planned to pick up some free textbooks at the NTUC Fairprice Used Textbooks Project.

However, he changed his mind after some thought and decided to leave the textbooks for needier students as he felt that he could still afford to buy new textbooks for his children.

Besides the cost of textbooks, many parents also grumbled about the hike in school bus fares.

One parent, Madam Mai Li Ping, 38, told Shin Min that she spent about $130 per month on school bus fares for her child.

This cautious approach in spending for their children's school needs is not unique to Singaporeans.

Last month, Malaysian daily The Star reported that some parents have opted to send their children's old schoolbags to be repaired and reused.