"Rs 2 Lakh Fee For Class 3": Coinswitch CEO Highlights Major Issue Of Rising School Fees In India

Ashish Singhal, co-founder of CoinSwitch and Lemonn, weighed in on the major issue of rising school fees for primary classes as he highlighted a report which stated that the fees are increasing by 10-30% every year, outpacing middle-class income growth.

In a LinkedIn post, Mr Singhal claimed that school expenses now consume nearly 19% of household income, and parents are even taking EMIs for kindergarten fees.

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"Started having conversations about school for my daughter. Shocked to hear what's going on. In Bangalore, parents are now paying Rs 2.1 lakh for 3rd standard. That's not an international school. That's regular CBSE," he further wrote. "Class 4 fees in Ahmedabad are around Rs 1.8 lakh annually."

"One parent called out the Rs 2L fee for Class 3, saying even an engineering degree costs less," Singhal argued.

Middle-class incomes have grown only 0.4% per year over the past decade, widening the gap between school costs and family incomes.

Parents are juggling rent, transport, books and uniforms while trying to give their children the best future, leading to erosion of savings, sanity and family dreams.

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"The official data says education inflation is just 4%. But try telling that to the mom comparing 5 school brochures, or the dad doing mental math between rent and bus fees," Mr Singhal wrote.

Mr Singhal urged fintech companies and policymakers to find ways to support middle-class families struggling with rising school fees, emphasising that education is becoming a luxury many can no longer afford.

His post resonated with social media, with users flooding the comment sections with their own experiences. On user wrote, "This is the reality of schools in all the metros in India. Parents are silently struggling with high school fees."

"And what do students get after 15-18 years of so-called education? Lost childhood to end up in jobs they hate because they did not get a chance to explore," another said.

"Education, is becoming a burden even for middle-class families these days. Monetary growth is negligible versus growth in other necessity expenses," a third user said.