‘School fees new status symbol’: Founder warns education inflation crushing India’s middle class
Back then, stretching for a Maruti was a milestone. Today, families are channeling that ₹3–5 lakh a year toward private school fees—many without blinking.
- Sep 5, 2025,
- Updated Sep 5, 2025 7:22 AM IST
Forget the car. For India’s middle class, the real status symbol today is sky-high private school fees—now consuming a larger chunk of household income than ever before.
Vinayak Seth, founder of VinFinCapital, sparked a LinkedIn conversation this week by declaring, “The new status symbol of India’s middle class isn’t a car. It’s school fees.” His post draws a sharp comparison between today’s education spending and the car-buying aspirations of a decade ago.
Back then, stretching for a Maruti was a milestone. Today, families are channeling that ₹3–5 lakh a year toward private school fees—many without blinking. In Tier-1 cities, mid-range schools charge ₹2–4 lakh annually, while “premium” institutions in metros routinely demand ₹6–10 lakh per child per year.
This spike has far outpaced salary growth. While average education inflation hovers at 6–12% annually, median salary growth lags behind at around 9%. For many single-income households earning India’s average of ₹4.4 lakh per year, schooling two children can eat up 80% of one parent’s income.
Seth notes that school fees have risen 150–200% in the past decade, quietly overtaking house rent, car EMIs, and even healthcare as the top household expense. The impact? Parents slashing savings, altering lifestyles, and increasingly viewing education as a luxury investment, not just a right.
Fintechs are now offering EMIs for school fees—an emerging sign of middle-class stress. Meanwhile, protests over fee hikes are rising in cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad, but regulatory controls remain loose.
Forget the car. For India’s middle class, the real status symbol today is sky-high private school fees—now consuming a larger chunk of household income than ever before.
Vinayak Seth, founder of VinFinCapital, sparked a LinkedIn conversation this week by declaring, “The new status symbol of India’s middle class isn’t a car. It’s school fees.” His post draws a sharp comparison between today’s education spending and the car-buying aspirations of a decade ago.
Back then, stretching for a Maruti was a milestone. Today, families are channeling that ₹3–5 lakh a year toward private school fees—many without blinking. In Tier-1 cities, mid-range schools charge ₹2–4 lakh annually, while “premium” institutions in metros routinely demand ₹6–10 lakh per child per year.
This spike has far outpaced salary growth. While average education inflation hovers at 6–12% annually, median salary growth lags behind at around 9%. For many single-income households earning India’s average of ₹4.4 lakh per year, schooling two children can eat up 80% of one parent’s income.
Seth notes that school fees have risen 150–200% in the past decade, quietly overtaking house rent, car EMIs, and even healthcare as the top household expense. The impact? Parents slashing savings, altering lifestyles, and increasingly viewing education as a luxury investment, not just a right.
Fintechs are now offering EMIs for school fees—an emerging sign of middle-class stress. Meanwhile, protests over fee hikes are rising in cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad, but regulatory controls remain loose.