‘Good education is a luxury’: Viral post on Rs 4 lakh school fee sparks heated debate on middle-class struggles

“This is the fee structure of one of the schools we’re considering for my daughter next year. Other reputed schools charge about the same,” he wrote, alongside a detailed breakdown of the costs. According to Jain, even families earning Rs 20 lakh annually would struggle to afford this, as much of their income is consumed by taxes and essential living expenses.

“At Rs 20L income, you fall in the highest 30% + CESS tax bracket, don’t qualify for government schemes, and receive no freebies or loan waivers like the rich. In the remaining Rs 10L, either you cover food, clothing, rent or EMIs, and savings, or you pay school fees for two kids,” he wrote.

See the post:

Good education is a luxury – which middle class can not afford

My daughter will start Grade 1 next year, and this is the fee structure of one of the schools we are considering in our city. Note that other good schools also have similar fees.

– Registration Charges: ₹2,000
-… pic.twitter.com/TvLql7mhOZ

— RJ – Rishabh Jain (@rishsamjain) November 17, 2024

The post sparked mixed reactions on social media, with some parents supporting Jain’s view. Some also argued that Jain’s claim of families with Rs 20 lakh annual income being not able to cover Rs 4 lakh in yearly school fees was an overstatement.

One user wrote, “Bro it feels like you are exaggerating the numbers! And also purposefully you have picked the costliest school in your city to make this tweet! Not trying to disregard the fact that yes in our country quality edu is a joke and cess that govt collect for edu goes to politicians.”

Another user said, “You are just maintaining the status symbol! Only 1% schools charge this much of a fee. It doesn’t means only those 1% schools provide quality education.”

A third user shared his point of view saying, “I always tell people that they need to count the money they spend for good education as part of taxes, since in most high tax countries once you pay taxes it covers quality education and sometimes healthcare too.”

A fourth user wrote, “This is almost 1-1.2 Cr spent in 12 years. Too high. Middle class cannot afford such high fees. This is a serious issue and needs deliberation on how this can be controlled else the quality of education being imparted to kids would decline.”