'₹4 lakh fees, ₹4 lakh teacher pay, 2% goes to educators': IIT alum calls education a ‘ripoff’

An IIT Madras alumnus has triggered fresh scrutiny of India’s private school model, claiming that teachers are earning the same wages they did in 2005, even as school fees have surged to ₹4 lakh per student.

In a LinkedIn post, Anupam Yash Vardhan called school education “a giant ripoff,” highlighting the yawning gap between what parents pay and what teachers earn. “School Fees: ₹3–4 lakhs. Teacher Salary: ₹3–4 lakhs,” he wrote, questioning how so little of the revenue reaches educators.

“Only ~2% of the fees goes to teachers,” he calculated, citing a common school structure—five teachers per subject, across five sections of 50 students each. His breakdown exposes a system where revenue distribution appears heavily skewed away from classroom instruction.

The claim gains weight from recently published data on Delhi Public School salaries. Updated August 31 and based on over 5,300 entries, the numbers show:

School teachers earn an average ₹3.7 lakh annually

• PRT Teachers: ₹4 lakh
• Primary Teachers: ₹3.9 lakh
• Principals: ₹7.8 lakh

Despite roles requiring up to 15 years of experience, salaries remain flat—matching figures reported two decades ago. “Teachers were drawing the same salary in 2005 too,” Vardhan noted. “I am sure today's teacher quality is nowhere close to 2005 though.”

He added, “If schools are paying teachers as much as delivery folks and maids, what kind of education are students getting!”

BT could not independently verify the report Vardhan has cited.

Sujith SS, founder of financial literacy platform Moneydhan, offered a contrasting view from personal experience. “In 2020, I shifted from Mumbai to Kerala, where I spent my childhood. COVID was a big enabler,” he shared. 

While he studied under the CBSE curriculum, his child is now enrolled in an ICSE school. “The standard of teaching is excellent, the teachers are well-qualified, and the annual fee is just ₹80,000—including three meals a day planned by a dietitian,” he said. Sujith believes top-tier education doesn’t have to come with a premium price tag. “Tier 3 cities are more affordable if you can relocate. In Tier 1 cities, schools are filtering parents based on fees because of excessive demand.”