Investor Aviral Bhatnagar shared that his niece’s UKG charges are over the top ₹4 million annually. The IIT Bombay alumnus compared it to his college fees. Bhatnagar received his Bachelor of Technology (B Tech) degree in Engineering Physics from IIT Bombay from 2010 to 2014.
“Cousin told me her daughter’s UKG fees are over 4l/yr in Bombay. My fees at IIT Bombay were half in 4 years. Cost of education is the hidden inflation no one talks about. Maybe AI lecturers will make it affordable again,” he (now X) tweeted.
Social media users reacted enthusiastically.
“It’s not education cost inflation but lifestyle inflation, your cousin is rich, he already wants to send to a top nursery school…Once we get money, we won’t settle for cheap stuff anymore..Schools charge fees based on how much parents earn…If school owners know I earn 1cr per year, they will charge me more…” wrote one of them.
“Recently I got my daughter admitted in a Prep (UKG) in Gurugram. They charged 1l entrance fee, 70k return fee, 20k monthly school fees and about 7k per month for bus. That’s about 5l there will be uniforms, books, activities etc which I think will be on top of this,” wrote another user.
Another user commented: “Education, marriage, medicine – the most profitable business in India. Government schools and hospitals are in the worst condition to support private schools and hospitals. India is only for the rich.”
“Mine is 25% of that due to the COVID lockdown, almost three years of my graduation took place from home. I took online classes,” chimed in another.
“Schools are glorified kindergarten with a little learning. AI teachers won’t solve the daycare problem, especially in grades K-5. K6-10 will be a little useful and great AI teachers k11-12 will end the coaching mafia,” another user wrote.
Another user wrote, “Just got my 4 year old daughter into a decent school in Noida with fees around 2.75 Lacs per year. I did the entire engineering for 2 Lacs.”
Education Inflation in India
A recent report by Kotak Mutual Fund highlights the steep rise in the cost of education in India. For many years, families believed that spending on education would rise along with income. However, this balance is now changing.
The cost of education is rising much faster than general inflation and wage growth. It creates financial pressure on households, the report says.
According to the report, education inflation in India is around 10-12% per annum compared to general inflation of 5-6%. In cities, many parents have seen school fees increase by 50-80% in the last three years.
The annual cost per child in private schools often ranges from ₹2.5 million up to ₹3.5 million. Some middle-class families now spend as much as 40-80% of their income on one child’s education.
Professional degrees at private universities cost two to three times as much as a decade ago. Studying abroad can stand between ₹30 thousand and ₹1 million or more. Other expenses such as training, transportation and uniforms add to the tuition burden.