RAMALLAH, West Bank — The family of first-grader Jalaluddin Abdul Hadi was still hunting for schools a week after the school year started on Aug. 23. They managed to find a place for him at a public primary school close to their home in central Ramallah, just a quarter of an hour away by car, though it would be hard for the little boy to get there by foot. It was not the first time the family has faced this challenge. In 2011, they had to register their older son in a private school so he could get there by bus.

Ramallah suffers from a lack of public schools, especially in residential areas, while private schools that offer bus transportation to the students abound in the city.

Jalaluddin’s father Mustafa bemoaned the expense of private education. He currently pays around 10,000 shekels ($2,800) in fees per year for his older son. These fees increase $100 every year. There are also registration fees, the cost of school uniforms and other expenses. He cannot afford to pay double now that his younger son has reached the first grade.

To solve the problem of transport, Mustafa reached a deal with a taxi driver to do the school run twice a day for 600 shekels ($175) per month, another cost for the family just to send their second son to a government school.