A private school in Hyderabad came under intense scrutiny this week after its steep annual fee structure surfaced online, igniting a wider conversation on the escalating cost of early education in India.
The controversy erupted after Anuradha Tiwari, founder of the Dharma Party of India, shared a photograph of the fee structure of Nasr School on social media. The image showed that the annual tuition fee for nursery students was Rs 2,51,000—equating to over Rs 21,000 per month.
Tiwari captioned her post on X (formerly Twitter): “Now, learning ABCD will cost you ₹21,000 per month. What are these schools even teaching to justify such a ridiculously high fee?”
The viral post drew widespread attention from the public, with thousands reacting to the exorbitant cost of early schooling.
According to the image shared by Tiwari, the fee structure listed: Nursery: Rs 2,51,000
Pre-Primary I and II (PPI 1 & 2): Rs 2,42,700
Classes 1 and 2: Rs 2,91,460
Classes 3 and 4: Rs 3,22,350
Criticism poured in across social media, with many users expressing concern about the growing unaffordability of private education in the country.
“If one cannot afford the fees, don’t send your kids to this school. Simple and straight,” said one user.
Another countered, “This entire process has become a sort of scam. Certain things need to be regulated effectively.”
“Is there a compulsion to get one’s kid educated in this school only? Irrespective of other aspects, such schools flourish because parents want to pay and get that additional cushion of satisfaction. Happy schooling,” wrote another.
Several users compared the fees with those charged in other parts of India.
“This is still cheap. A few schools in NCR charge upwards of Rs 1 lakh only as tuition fee for nursery students,” one person commented.
Another added, “I am curious. What’s so special about these schools? How is it any different from the schools which cost Rs 1 lakh per year?”
A user simply remarked: “Very sad. Education is too costly.”
Nasr School had not issued a response to the controversy at the time of publication.
The post has also triggered broader commentary about India’s education policy and economic disparity. One user wrote: “India needs to reform its education policy because the Board exams are easy, and competitive exams are hard. So then comes private coaching, and because of the private coaching, India’s education fees and inflation are very high. A large number of people go to private coaching institutes, and private coaching institutes do as they want and increase the fees as per their own wish.”
Adding to the conversation, Ashish Singhal, co-founder of CoinSwitch and Lemonn, echoed concerns around skyrocketing fees for early schooling. In a recent LinkedIn post, Singhal highlighted a report indicating that school fees have been increasing by 10–30% annually—far outpacing the growth in middle-class household incomes.
“School expenses now consume nearly 19% of household income,” he claimed. “Parents are even taking EMIs for kindergarten fees.”
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