BENGALURU: As private schools in the city gear up for the 2025-26 academic session, a survey has revealed that a significant number of parents are facing sharp fee hikes, adding to the financial burden on households.
According to the survey conducted by LocalCircles, 48% of parents in Bengaluru reported an increase in school fees by 10% or more, with 8% stating that the hike exceeds 30%. Meanwhile, 46% of respondents said their schools have not yet announced the revised fees, leaving many in uncertainty.
The findings, based on responses from 2,711 parents in the city, paint a worrying picture for families already coping with rising living costs and education-related expenses. While 21% said the hike was between 20% and 30%, about 19% saw a 10-20% increase, and a small fraction reported a 5-10% rise. Only 2% said there had been no change in the fee, while no one reported hikes of less than 5%.
The data from Bengaluru is part of a larger national picture, where over 18,000 parents from 301 districts participated. Nationally, 81% of parents with children in private schools reported that fees had gone up by more than 10% compared to last year.
The survey highlighted that in cities like New Delhi, Bengaluru and Hyderabad, rising school fees have sparked widespread concern and even street protests in some areas. In Delhi’s DPS Dwarka, for instance, parents have repeatedly protested fee hikes that have pushed annual fees to Rs 1.4 lakh, with tuition fee hikes of 8-20% every year since 2020. Despite intervention by authorities, many schools continue to increase fees under various heads.
Even in Karnataka, the Department of School Education responded to parental concerns by issuing a circular requiring all schools to publish detailed fee structures and reservation policies. Schools have also been instructed to set up grievance redressal mechanisms, while education officers have been directed to act on complaints without delay.
With 44% of parents nationally stating that fees have increased by 50-80% or more over the past three years, many families are turning to loans to manage the rising cost of education. For those with children in high schools, the added pressure of coaching and competitive exam preparation is proving to be financially unsustainable, the survey revealed. The parents urged the central and state governments to step in to regulate school fee hikes and ensure that any caps are effectively implemented at the ground level.