A Bengaluru-based investor has triggered a discussion on the rising cost of education by highlighting a significant increase in lower kindergarten fees in Hyderabad
The investor, Aviral Bhatnagar, founder of A Junior VC, reported on X that LKG fees in Hyderabad have jumped from ₹2.3 lakh to ₹3.7 lakh per year. He suggested that this steep rise in fees is part of a broader trend across India, indicating that education is experiencing more severe inflation than other sectors like real estate.
Bhatnagar pointed out that, when adjusted for inflation, school fees have increased ninefold over the past thirty years, while college fees have risen even more dramatically by twentyfold.
His concerns align with those of other commentators. Author Manoj Arora highlighted that education, along with food and healthcare, accounts for 70% of a typical middle-class family’s expenses. He questioned the government’s official inflation figures, suggesting that the actual annual inflation rate for essential services like education is between 10 and 20%, much higher than the reported CPI inflation of 3–4%.
This issue has gained traction on social media, with some users noting that current annual kindergarten fees exceed the salary package of entry-level positions at companies like Cognizant, which has recently faced criticism for offering low wages.
Another user commented on the broader implications, arguing that education has become a business with little emphasis on nurturing critical thinking.
Sridhar Vembu, CEO of Zoho, also weighed in, expressing concerns about the affordability of education. He attributed much of the cost increase to rising urban real estate prices, which he believes have been inflated by political corruption. Vembu stated on X that corruption money from politics has driven up real estate prices, impacting the cost of housing, schools, and healthcare.
Vembu emphasized that expensive real estate affects other essential services and shared Zoho’s efforts to make education more affordable by investing in schools in rural areas, where land remains reasonably priced.
