As parents have been expressing concerns and staging protests over the rising costs of school education in New Delhi, an old post by entrepreneur Rishabh Jain has gone viral on social networking platform X (formerly known as Twitter).
Jain, Co-founder of LLA, revealed in a post last November that he was requested to pay a whopping Rs 4.27 lakh for his daughter's admission to Class I.
Jain shared the pricing breakdown, revealing that he was charged Rs 2,000 for registration, Rs 40,000 for admission, and Rs 5,000 as refundable caution money. The school's annual tuition fee was Rs 2.52 lakh, with transport charges of Rs 1.08 lakh. Additionally, books and uniforms were priced at Rs 20,000, Economic Times reports.
“Good education is a luxury the middle class cannot afford,” he wrote.
Jain noted that even with a household income of Rs 20 lakh per year, middle-class households struggle to afford quality education.
He also questioned the tax load on the middle class, alleging that roughly half of their income is taken away through GST and other levies, leaving them without recourse to subsidies or government services.
He continued, “At Rs 20L income, you fall into the highest 30% + cess tax bracket, don’t qualify for government schemes, and don’t get freebies or loan waivers like the rich. With the remaining Rs 10L, you either manage your family’s basic needs or pay school fees for two kids — decide!”
In response to increasing concerns over arbitrary fee hikes, the Delhi government has formed inquiry committees led by subdivisional judges to inspect all private schools in the city.
To enhance transparency, Delhi Education Minister Ashish Sood announced on Monday (April 7) that data on fee increases across all private schools would be made accessible on the Directorate of Education's (DoE) website within the next 10 days.
Sood noted that over the last decade, just 75 of the 1,677 private schools were audited annually. "The Delhi government is dedicated to preventing unjustified fee increases by private schools. We will not tolerate the commercialisation of education," he said.
