School fees, supplies and private tutoring: options for Tunisian parents

What the return to school costs in Tunisia

Supplies, schoolbags, overalls, registration fees and transport all add up in September, often at the same time as summer spending and a relative's wedding. For a family with three children, the bill quickly exceeds an average monthly salary.

Free state schools but extra expenses

Tunisian state education is free, but families pay modest registration fees, textbooks from the National Pedagogical Centre, the supplies teachers ask for and sometimes the canteen or school transport on top of the basics.

Private tutoring, a major item of spending

Private lessons and extra support classes, especially before the sixth-grade entrance exam, the brevet and the baccalaureate, take up a large share of the education budget. They are paid monthly throughout the year, not only at the start of term.

Private schools and annual tuition fees

Private schools and colleges, numerous in Tunis, Ariana, Sousse and Sfax, charge high annual fees that are often payable each term. Some establishments offer arrangements for siblings or allow the fees to be paid in instalments.

Bank advances and small back-to-school loans

At the end of every summer, several banks offer customers with a domiciled salary a salary advance or a small back-to-school loan repayable over a few months. Terms vary from bank to bank and remain subject to the usury threshold.

Spreading fees without post-dated cheques

Since the cheque reform, private schools can no longer rely on a series of post-dated cheques. Instalment payments with a deferred-debit bank card in Tunisia are becoming an alternative when the school agrees to accept them.

Personal loan or social security fund loan

For large private school fees, parents often borrow through a personal loan in Tunisia or a CNSS or CNRPS loan with fixed instalments, rather than leaving the current account overdrawn for weeks at a time.

The consumer honour loan for families

The honour loan open to individuals since October 2026, of up to 5,000 dinars with no interest or collateral, can cover the return to school since it is aimed at consumer needs. It must be repaid within two years at most.

Back-to-school social assistance for low-income families

Families enrolled in the Ministry of Social Affairs assistance programmes traditionally receive back-to-school help, in cash or in supplies. This support is not a loan and does not have to be repaid, but the amounts remain modest.

Staff mutual societies and workplace associations

In some state companies and public administrations, a staff association or mutual society grants back-to-school advances repaid through salary deductions. These advances count towards the deduction ceiling the bank assesses when reviewing a loan.

From secondary school to university

Once the baccalaureate is obtained, financing changes in nature with university grants and the public loan. Our guide to a student loan in Tunisia details the annual amounts paid by the university services offices to eligible students.

Sizing the amount you borrow correctly

A September advance should be repaid before the spending on Eid or the winter holidays, which comes round every year. It is wise to borrow only the amount that is missing and keep an instalment compatible with day-to-day costs.

Preparing to finance the school year in Tunisia

1. List all expected expenses in July: registration, supplies, uniform, transport, canteen and private lessons.
2. Ask the private school for its payment calendar and the methods it accepts, card or transfer.
3. Compare the bank's back-to-school advance, a social security fund loan and the interest-free honour loan.
4. Check that the new instalment keeps total deductions below the ceiling applied by the bank.
5. Apply as early as August, because branches are very busy as the new school year approaches.

Ways to finance the school year in Tunisia

Supporting documents for back-to-school financing

• ID card of the borrowing parent
• Latest payslips or pension certificate
• Enrolment certificate or invoice from the private school
• Recent bank statements
• Health card or social certificate for back-to-school assistance

Mistakes when financing the school year

• Leaving the account overdrawn throughout September, a costlier solution than an advance repaid in fixed instalments.
• Forgetting private lessons in the annual budget and having to borrow again during the school year.
• Answering an online advert for an instant back-to-school loan that demands fees before any money is paid.
• Stacking a workplace advance, a CNSS loan and a bank loan until they exceed the household's repayment capacity.

Lenders to contact

• BH Bank (Banque de l'Habitat): Tunisian bank historically specialised in housing, offering home loans to individuals as well as working-capital financing for professionals and businesses.
• Enda Tamweel: Tunisian microfinance institution granting microloans to micro-entrepreneurs, including in rural areas, backed by banking partners and development funders.

Back to school and borrowing in Tunisia: answers