I have often seen the same moment in many homes.
A parent receives the new circular from the school and reads the revised fees. The silence that follows says everything. The number is higher again, ten per cent more, sometimes fifteen per cent more, and the first reaction is disbelief. Very soon it turns into worry. Families ask each other how this increase will be managed this year.
For many middle-class households, the cost of schooling is no longer a regular monthly expense. It has become the largest and most sensitive part of the budget. Salaries may rise a little each year, but school fees rise faster and with greater certainty.
Within a few years, the small increments in income are consumed entirely by these hikes, leaving families with little scope to save or plan ahead. Parents begin to feel that their hard-earned salary is directed more towards the school than towards their own needs.
The most difficult part is that education is not something parents can reduce or postpone. It is not like delaying a purchase or cancelling a holiday. Schooling is a commitment that must continue, no matter how strained the household finances become. That is why the stress is rarely spoken of in public, but it is visible in the choices families make. Vacations are cancelled, savings accounts remain untouched, and new purchases are delayed, all so that the school fees can be paid on time.
Why School Fees Rise Faster Than Salaries
Each year, parents see the same pattern repeat. Salaries rise by five or six per cent, sometimes a little more in good years, but the school circular announces an increase of ten to fifteen per cent.
This may not look significant in a single year, but when this happens again and again, the difference becomes very large. That is why many families feel that their pay raises never really reach them, because the school has already claimed the money.
Part of this rise is linked to genuine costs.
Schools spend more on teacher salaries, new facilities, technology, and compliance with regulations. The problem is that almost all of these costs are passed on directly to parents. Development charges, technology fees, or special activity heads appear on the bill, and parents rarely refuse because nobody wants their child to miss out.
Demand adds to the pressure.
In most large cities, parents queue for years to get a place in a reputed school. With long waiting lists, schools know that families will accept higher fees rather than risk losing the seat. This confidence gives them the freedom to increase charges each year.
Oversight is also weak.
Some states have tried to set caps, often around ten to fifteen per cent over a period, but the rules are easy to bypass. A charge under a different name does not always count as a fee hike. In Delhi, the number of rejections for fee hike proposals has fallen in recent years, which means most requests go through. Parents may complain, but very few challenge the school openly.
The real pinch shows up when families do the math.
Imagine a parent earning ₹10 lakh a year. A six per cent raise gives an extra ₹60,000. If one child’s annual school fee is ₹2 lakh and the school raises it by twelve per cent, that adds ₹24,000. With two children, the increase is ₹48,000 before books, uniforms, transport, and coaching. Add one more development charge and the raise is gone. The following year the base is higher again, so the cycle repeats.
Even financing options add to the cycle.
Banks and fintechs now promote school fee EMIs. They make large bills feel manageable in the short term, but they also normalise the idea that primary and secondary schooling can be debt-financed. The ease of credit allows schools to keep raising fees without much resistance.
This is why school fees rise faster than salaries. It is not the result of one single factor but of many forces working together: higher costs, high demand, weak oversight, and the availability of credit. Each by itself looks manageable, but together they create a system where families are left running harder every year just to stay in the same place.
How Rising Fees Affect Middle-Class Families
What begins as a manageable monthly payment in the early years often turns into the single largest expense by the time children reach higher classes.
The first change shows up in savings.
Parents who once put money aside for a home, retirement, or an emergency fund often find themselves dipping into those reserves to meet the latest hike. The small raise from work disappears into tuition, and there is little left to invest for the future.
The next change is in everyday life.
Vacations are cancelled, plans for a new car are postponed, and home improvements are pushed further down the list. These are quiet sacrifices, rarely spoken about, but they shape how families live. I have heard many parents say they feel as though one person in the household works only to pay the school while the other manages everything else.
Debt is becoming part of the story too.
With fee EMIs and education loans now available for school children, borrowing has started much earlier than before. Parents once thought of loans only for college, but today some are financing even nursery and primary education. The immediate relief of spreading the payment comes at the cost of future pressure, as monthly instalments eat into household income.
There is also an emotional weight.
Parents carry a constant sense of worry about whether they can keep up. Many feel guilt if they are unable to offer the same schooling to a second child. Others question whether the sacrifices will truly pay off in the future. This stress rarely gets spoken of in public, but it runs deep inside households.
The rising cost of education is therefore not just a financial burden. It changes the rhythm of family life, the way parents plan their future, and the sense of security they feel about their present.
The Way Forward
There are no easy answers, but there are lessons families can act on.
The first is to accept that education costs will rise by ten to twelve per cent a year and to plan for it the same way one plans for rent or housing EMIs. Setting aside money every month in a dedicated fund helps soften the shock when the next circular arrives.
The second is to look at the total cost of schooling rather than just tuition.
Transport, uniforms, books, technology charges, and coaching together form the true bill. Families who compare schools only on tuition often realise too late how much more they are spending.
The third is to be cautious with fee EMIs and loans.
They make the burden lighter in the short term but turn education into long-term debt. I have written earlier that if your EMI kills your savings, you cannot afford it. Using them only as a last resort protects household finances from being stretched too thin.
The fourth is to demand greater transparency.
Parents have a right to know how fee hikes are calculated and whether they follow state rules. Joining parent associations or even raising simple questions with school management creates accountability that individual voices often cannot achieve.
On a wider level, better regulation and stronger public schools are the only real checks on this cycle. When families have credible alternatives, private schools cannot raise fees unchecked. Until then, planning, awareness, and cautious financial decisions are the tools that parents must use to protect themselves.
The message is simple. Education is a priority, but it should not come at the cost of a family’s security. Treat school fees as a rising, long-term commitment, prepare for them in advance, and question them when they seem arbitrary. By doing so, parents can regain some balance and ensure that investing in their children’s future does not overshadow the well-being of the present.
Disclaimer
Note: This article relies on data from fund reports, index history, and public disclosures. We have used our own assumptions for analysis and illustrations.
The purpose of this article is to share insights, data points, and thought-provoking perspectives on investing. It is not investment advice. If you wish to act on any investment idea, you are strongly advised to consult a qualified advisor. This article is strictly for educational purposes. The views expressed are personal and do not reflect those of my current or past employers.
Parth Parikh has over a decade of experience in finance and research. He currently heads growth and content strategy at Finsire, where he works on investor education initiatives and products like Loan Against Mutual Funds (LAMF) and financial data solutions for banks and fintechs.