New Delhi: Massive fee hikes in schools is increasingly becoming a matter of concern for parents across the country. Of the 31,000 parents surveyed across 309 districts of India, 44 percent reported that their children’s schools have raised fees by 50-80 percent over the past three years, while eight percent said that the hike exceeded 80 percent, according to a new survey.
The survey by LocalCircles, a citizen engagement platform, was released Thursday. The report reveals alarming trends in the affordability of private education. “With affordability of school education becoming a huge concern, and AI promise of self-paced learning platforms, a few parents are even questioning the relevance of schools,” it highlighted.
Private schools, especially those offering international curricula, charge higher fees, revealed the report, adding that while the upper-income group may be able to afford the exorbitant fees, middle-class and lower-income families face financial hardships, often sacrificing essential expenses or borrowing to prioritise their children’s education.
Moreover, the burden, according to the survey, has been felt across cities, with parents in Hyderabad protesting earlier this year against private schools demanding double the existing fees for lower kindergarten (LKG) to class 3 admissions. In Bengaluru, parents have objected to fee hikes ranging from 10 to 30 percent for the 2025-26 academic year.
“The annual increase in school fees has become an unchecked burden,” the report quotes a parent, who had posted on social media platform X. “We are struggling with job cuts, rising taxes, and home loans. The government needs to step in.”
Currently, rising school fees are a growing concern across cities. While parents continue to express outrage, schools cite increased operational costs and salary hikes as the reason.
The LocalCircles survey noted that the need of the hour is to help children access quality education at affordable prices. “It is not enough to get them admitted into schools but also provide them with the best facilities in terms of learning and infrastructure,” it said, adding that in most cases, however, quality education is becoming a privilege.
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‘Weak’ enforcement
The report further showed that 93 percent of surveyed parents said that their state governments have “not been effective in capping or limiting excessive increases by schools”.
While the Supreme Court ruled in 2021 that states cannot interfere with the autonomy of private schools over fee collection, the governments can regulate the fee structure to prevent profiteering and commercialisation, the report said, adding that the enforcement has been “weak”, with many schools continuing to raise fees under various unexplained categories.
The Association of Primary and Secondary Schools of Karnataka said that the reasons behind the hikes were rising operational costs and the need to offer competitive salaries to retain teachers. However, many parents have been unconvinced, pointing to additional costs such as books, uniforms, and transport, which are often provided by businesses owned by school management, the report noted.
The LocalCircles survey also highlighted a troubling decline in school enrolment. The Ministry of Education’s Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) report for 2023-24 recorded a drop in student enrolment to 24.8 crore, down from 26.02 crore in 2018-19. “This marks a 6 percent decline from the 26.02 crore recorded in 2018-19. The substantial drop in enrolment raises concerns about the effectiveness of current educational policies and the need for targeted interventions,” said the report.
“If schools start failing on both affordability and relevance, the shift towards at-home learning programs may accelerate,” it added.
(Edited by Radifah Kabir)
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