NEW DELHI: Many concerned parents from Bengaluru to Delhi have voiced concern that school fees have increased manifold in the last three years. A national survey has now confirmed that school fees nationwide have increased by 50-80 per cent or more in three years.
The survey by LocalCircles, a community social media platform, found that 44% of parents said that the school their children attend has increased fees by 50-80% over the last three years.
The survey, conducted among 31,000 parents of school-going children located in 309 districts of India, also found that 93% of parents blamed their state governments for not being effective enough in capping or limiting excessive fee increases by schools.
It said fee hikes are a national phenomenon, but only two states - Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra - regulate school fees.
As schools reopen for the new academic year, the survey said, one of the biggest concerns of many parents is how they will cope with the burden of a further hike in fees across all classes in most private schools.
Sachin Taparia, founder of LocalCircles, said they conducted the survey after they received over 100 complaints in March and April from different parts of India regarding excessive school fee increases.
The survey found that while 8% of respondents stated that their children's school fees went up over 80%, 36% cited a hike between 50% and 80%. Another 8% said that school fees in their ward's school have increased by 30% to 50%.
"To sum up, 44% of parents surveyed say the school their children attend has increased fees by 50-80% over the last 3 years," the survey said.
Only 7% of the school-going parents surveyed said that the state government has effectively capped or limited excessive fee increases by schools.
However, a whopping 46% slammed the states, saying that their state governments talk but fail to make any impact.
As many as 47% of respondents stated that the states did not even take up the issue.
"To sum up a total of 93% of parents surveyed say that their state government has not been effective in capping or limiting excessive fee increases by schools," the survey said.
Taparia said education in big or small cities in India has become increasingly expensive, with skyrocketing school fees burdening parents.
"Private schools, especially those offering international curriculums, charge premium fees. While the rich may be able to afford the exorbitant fees, middle-class and lower-income families face financial hardships, often sacrificing essential expenses or borrowing to prioritize their children's education," he told this paper.
"The need of the hour is to help children access quality education at affordable fees. It is not enough to get them admitted into schools but also provide them with the best facilities in terms of learning and infrastructure," he added.
The survey said that in Hyderabad, parents of children seeking admissions for pre-primary and primary sections (LKG to class 3) in private schools for the upcoming academic year are agitated as the schools are demanding double the existing fees.
Some parents have alleged that no government order has been issued to regulate these fees, and they have urged the Education Department to intervene.
In Bengaluru, too, parents have objected to several schools announcing a 10% to 30% increase in school fees for the 2025-26 academic year.
The survey highlighted that some have stuck to the 10%-15% annual revision, while others have raised it higher.
It is the same in Delhi too.
Taparia said the Ministry of Education's Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) report, which provides a database about schools in India, for 2023-24 reveals that student enrolment decreased to 24.8 crore in 2023-24, a drop of over one crore compared to the previous years.
"This marks a 6% 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," he added.