New Delhi,23rd July 2025: Along with food, clothing, shelter, and healthcare, education is considered a fundamental right. However, it has now increasingly become a profitable business. Despite the availability of government schools, many parents are drawn to private schools, a trend that private school managements are fully exploiting by increasing fees arbitrarily each year.
As a result, many parents, especially from middle-income families, are unable to afford quality education for their children. The high private school fees are draining their finances. Expressing concern, chartered accountant Meena Goel appealed through social media to parents, urging them to consider enrolling their children in government schools.
To educate their children in private institutions, many parents are forced to take loans, cut down on household expenses, and in some cases, even depend on startups offering education loans in easy monthly installments (EMIs).
For many families, 40% to 80% of their income is spent not on higher education, but on basic school education. This raises the pressing question: Is the quality of education truly proportional to this rising cost?
- Currently, in many private schools:
- Admission fees are around Rs 35,000
- Tuition fees approximately Rs 1.4 lakh per year
- Annual charges about Rs38,000
- Transportation fees range from Rs 44,000 to Rs 73,000
- Books and uniforms cost between Rs 20,000 and Rs 30,000
This brings the total annual expenditure to Rs 2.5–3.5 lakhs, and in big cities, it often exceeds Rs 4 lakhs. Even in mid-range private schools, the annual cost is Rs 1–1.5 lakh. What’s more alarming is that these costs continue to rise every year.
In comparison, the average annual income in India is Rs 4. 4 lakhs, while average private school expenses range from Rs 2 to ₹ Rs 4 lakhs per child. That means 40% to 80% of a family’s earnings are being spent on school education alone.
While the public often expresses concern about rising food and healthcare costs, the increasing cost of education is silently draining middle-class savings. To provide quality education, families are cutting down on other essential expenses and going into debt, leading to a decline in their financial stability and savings.
Educating a child in a private school has now become a luxury.