Rising school fees are quickly becoming the biggest financial burden on India’s middle-class families. Ashish Singhal, co-founder of CoinSwitch and Lemonn, recently voiced his concerns on LinkedIn, calling the current fee structure “theft” and warning of a brewing crisis. “Parents are now taking EMIs for nursery,” he noted, adding that in Bengaluru, CBSE schools not international ones are charging up to ₹2.1 lakh for 3rd standard.
This isn’t an isolated issue. Across cities like Bangalore and Ahmedabad, yearly school fee hikes between 10% to 30% have become common, far outpacing salary growth, which has stagnated at 0.4% annually for a decade. Parents now pay nearly ₹1.8 lakh a year for a child in Class 4 in cities like Ahmedabad. Education, once the stepping stone to upward mobility, is eating up nearly 20% of household income.
Singhal warned that education inflation is underreported. While official data pegs it at 4%, families are feeling a much sharper pinch. “This isn’t just inflation. It’s erosion. Of savings, sanity, and family dreams,” he wrote. Parents now find themselves sacrificing vacations, healthcare, and future investments to meet fee demands turning basic schooling into the largest recurring expense.
He urged fintechs, banks, and policymakers to understand the real struggles of the average Indian family. “This is your user. Struggling quietly, cutting corners, still showing up,” he posted. His message underscores a broader societal concern: without systemic solutions through regulation, subsidies, or financial innovation education could become a privilege rather than a right.
Once hailed as the great equaliser, education is fast becoming the biggest liability for middle-class families. And unless checked, the EMI burden of nursery and primary schooling could reshape how India’s working families dream, save, and survive.
