By team abhyaspeeth 
Abhyspeeth Desk
New Delhi: As the new academic year 2025–26 kicks off, a large number of parents across India are grappling with steep hikes in school fees. A recent nationwide survey conducted by LocalCircles has revealed a startling insight that 81% of parents say their child’s private school has increased fees by more than 10%, with many reporting hikes ranging from 20% to even 50%.
The situation is particularly alarming in metropolitan cities like Delhi, Bengaluru, Pune and Hyderabad, where some private schools have raised nursery-level fees to nearly ₹1 lakh per year. For many families, the cost of schooling is fast becoming a financial burden that’s hard to bear.
The LocalCircles survey covered over 18,000 parents across 301 districts, making it one of the most extensive public feedback exercises on this issue. Among the respondents, 61% were male and 39% female, with participation spread across Tier 1 (45%), Tier 2 (28%), and Tier 3/4 cities (27%).
When asked how much their child’s school had increased fees for the current academic session, here’s what parents said: 22% reported a hike of over 30%. 28% said the increase was between 20%–30%. 31% noted a 10%–20% rise. Only 3% said the hike was within 5%–10%. Another 3% had not yet received the revised fee notice
These numbers paint a grim picture — half of all parents surveyed are dealing with fee hikes over 20%, pushing many middle-income families to the edge.
Over the past three years, 44% of respondents said their child’s school has cumulatively increased fees by 50%–80% or more, without sufficient explanation or consultation. Add to that the rising costs of coaching classes, transport, uniforms, and digital tools, and education becomes an ever-growing expense.
One parent from Delhi shared, “We are told the fee hike is due to inflation or infrastructure upgrades. But the increments are arbitrary and far beyond affordability for most working-class families.”
The issue of unregulated fee hikes is not new, but it continues to be ignored by regulatory authorities. Parents are demanding that state education departments and boards introduce guidelines to cap annual fee increases, and ensure transparency and accountability in school budgeting.