What is the cost of school education in India?

Are you a new parent who wants their child to study in a school that provides the best education? If yes, it might get difficult for you to choose among the dozens of schools that could be in your area.

Did you know more than 91% of Indian parents want their children to have an undergraduate degree, and more than 80% want them to get a master’s degree too?

The cost of school fees has been on the rise in the past two decades. Before choosing a particular school for your child, we recommend you get accurate information on the complete expenditure involved.

Let’s understand specific crucial parameters involved with a child’s schooling in India.

The ideology of parents for their child’s education

Parents are earnest about their child’s education in India. They start having high expectations from their children from the day they start schooling. They motivate them to get the best results in class from day one. Furthermore, most parents would risk almost everything for their child’s better education.

Cost of education in schools

The cost of education varies from one school to the other, whether it is a government or private school. On a usual basis, in tier 1 and tier 2 cities, the tuition fees of private schools are somewhere around Rs 2,500 to Rs 8,000 every month.

The total cost paid is not restricted to the tuition fees. Parents have to pay other charges, including maintenance fees, lab and technology fees, fees for books and stationery, transportation fees, and so on. Hence, the amount almost doubles itself.

If we take the example of DPS RK Puram, we get to know that they demand Rs 25,200 just for admission. The annual tuition fees are Rs 1,09,200.  

The fees also differ from class to class. If your child is in primary, you will have to pay comparatively less considering a high school student. On average, parents have to pay Rs 6,000 for their child in primary school. When the child goes to secondary or senior secondary, this amount rises to Rs 8,000 and Rs 10,000.  

With all this data, we can understand the cost of school education in India is quite costly and can be heavy on the pockets of middle-class parents.

Families with an income of Rs 3 lakhs or less in a year prefer to send their children to government schools because they cannot afford a private one. A government school requires Rs 20,000 or less per annum for a child to get a school education. 

Read more: How single parents can plan finances?

Why is the cost of school education so high?

Since education costs are so high, let’s understand why it is this way. Multiple factors contribute to the rise in the price of education. 

1. Lack of Policies 

According to a survey, many parents have an opinion that the government lacks proper policies for schools in India. In the absence of these policies, there is no adequate regulation over schools on the criteria of fees. Every child would have received a quality education at a very minimal cost if it had been there. 

2. The ratio of students and teachers 

If you try to analyze the ratio of students to teachers, you will realize that it is pretty high. Quite a few times, teachers are not adequately trained, which affects the students’ quality of education.

But this is not true in all cases. Most private schools have a proper selection procedure for selecting the teachers, so students receive the best education possible. 

3. Infrastructure 

Infrastructure is the next important factor contributing to the increase in the total fees. The administration plans to build a space that provides overall progress for a student.

They want to give the best facilities for a student’s education, including computer labs, auditoriums, intelligent classes, games room, etc. All of these also require maintenance, which the students charge.

Read more: What are the expenses covered under an education loan?

Which is better in terms of education? Private schools or government schools?

If you compare the quality of education in private and government schools, you will realize that private schools have better teachers with proper degrees and knowledge.

Also, the private school has better infrastructure and facilities, which helps students’ overall growth. On the contrary, they demand fees that are pretty high and sometimes unaffordable for all the parents.  

Government schools of India need more experienced teachers who can provide quality education to students. Most of the time, the buildings of government schools are pretty old and are not maintained properly.

On the other hand, these schools demand a minimal fee, which most people of India easily afford. Hence, it entirely depends on the parents’ priorities and what they want for their children.

Consult an expert advisor to get the right plan for you