Zoho CEO Sridhar Vembu blames real estate inflation for soaring education costs

Vembu identified the rising cost of education as a critical issue, attributing a significant portion of the problem to the escalating prices of urban real estate.

Sridhar Vembu, CEO of Zoho, has weighed in on the growing concern over the skyrocketing cost of education in India. Vembu's comments come in response to a recent X (formerly Twitter) post by a user, who highlighted the surge in school fees, particularly noting that LKG fees in Hyderabad have risen from Rs 2.3 lakh to Rs 3.7 lakh. The X user's post also pointed to a broader national trend of increasing education costs, with school fees inflating ninefold and college fees twentyfold over the past three decades. He also pointed out that education is no longer affordable.

In his reply, Vembu identified the rising cost of education as a critical issue, attributing a significant portion of the problem to the escalating prices of urban real estate. He argued that the high cost of real estate is not only driving up housing prices but also affecting the affordability of essential services such as education and healthcare. "Education has become increasingly unaffordable. A good part of it is due to urban real estate (and even real estate around small towns) becoming extremely expensive; that affects education, health care and of course, housing and retail as well" wrote Vembu.

Education has become increasingly unaffordable. A good part of it due to urban real estate (and even real estate around small towns) becoming extremely expensive; that affects education, health care and of course, housing and retail as well.

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A lot of corruption money from… https://t.co/UWaCUtjQTo

— Sridhar Vembu (@svembu) August 16, 2024

Vembu further said political corruption has worsened the problem. "A lot of corruption money from politics is "parked" in real estate and that has inflated prices beyond normal market forces," Vembu stated, adding, "In a sense, all of us pay for political corruption in the form of expensive housing, schools and health care."

To counter the effects of high real estate costs on education, Vembu highlighted Zoho's initiative to offer free education through its network of schools. These schools, however, are situated in deep rural areas where land is more affordable, allowing Zoho to provide education at no cost to students in these regions, he said.