'Parents taking EMIs for nursery': Bengaluru dad’s ₹2 lakh shock echoes middle class pain

A Bengaluru father’s LinkedIn post has reignited public outrage over skyrocketing school fees in India, exposing what many middle-class families are now calling an education affordability crisis.

Ashish Singhal, co-founder of CoinSwitch and Lemonn, took to LinkedIn this week after being jolted by the cost of enrolling his daughter in a regular CBSE school. 

“₹2.1 lakh for Class 3,” he wrote. “That’s not an international school. That’s regular CBSE.”

Singhal’s post  struck a nerve. “30% fee hike. If this isn’t theft, what is?” he asked, capturing a growing sentiment among Indian parents struggling to keep up with mounting school costs.

In Bengaluru, where Singhal is based, some CBSE schools are charging more for primary education than top engineering colleges. “One parent called out the ₹2L fee for Class 3, saying even an engineering degree costs less,” he noted.

Across Indian cities, annual fee hikes of 10–30% have become routine, far outpacing middle-class income growth, which has crawled at just 0.4% per year over the last decade. In Ahmedabad, Class 4 fees are already brushing ₹1.8 lakh annually.

Official data pegs education inflation at 4%, but families feel the pinch far more. School expenses — tuition, transport, uniforms, and books — now consume nearly a fifth of household income, according to Singhal.

The impact is stark: parents are taking out EMIs for nursery admissions. “Forget saving for college,” he wrote. “Parents are now borrowing money for nursery.”

“This isn’t just inflation,” Singhal warned. “It’s erosion. Of savings, sanity, and even family dreams.”

Once hailed as the great equalizer, education is fast becoming a crippling monthly liability. Singhal’s call to action was directed at those in fintech and policy: “This is your user. Struggling quietly, cutting corners, still showing up. Find ways to make them win.”