IIT alum calls school fees 'giant ripoff', says fees to teachers only 2%

Anupam Yash Vardhan, an IIT Madras graduate, has kicked up the hornet's nest with a frank post on LinkedIn. "School Fees: Rs 34 lakhs. Teacher Salary: Rs 34 lakhs," he posted, and detailed how only about 2% of fees could find its way to teachers.

He calculated the numbers on a model in which five teachers teach one subject each to five sections of 50 students each -- something that happens in the majority of Indian schools.

Now this revenue is primarily supposed to go into paying the salaries of the five subject teachers catering to those 250 students. If each teacher gets Rs 34 lakh annually, it's an expense of Rs 1520 lakhs only.

What happens to the remaining Rs 7.3980 crore?

It's a tidy picture of an arrangement where almost all income gets baked into overhead, administration, and buildings—and the folks actually teaching get crunch crumbs.

TEACHER PAY IN STASIS

The theory gets a bit of traction from actual data: Vardham posted a screenshot of a website that was listing Delhi Public School payrolls updated as of August. Based on 5,300 records, it indicated that the mean teacher salary stood at Rs 3.7 lakh per year.

Full-time PRTs receive Rs 4 lakh, primary teachers Rs 3.9 lakh, principals earn Rs 7.8 lakh.

Vardhan cuts to the chase: "Teachers were earning the same salary in 2005 as well. I am sure today's quality of teachers is nowhere near 2005 though."

So what is the explanation? In an environment where fees continue to go up, paychecks hardly move.

He wasn't mincing words: "If teachers are being paid by schools as much as delivery men and maids, what education are children receiving!" It's a biting observation, and it reflects a widespread frustration—not only with high fees, but the fact that not enough money is making it to classrooms.

WHAT'S REALLY GOING ON HERE?

The larger picture:

• Urban private schools drive fees upwards, often in an unsustainable way.
• Teacher salaries plateau even as inflation and workload increases.
• Lower-grade cities can be more value-for-money, lower fees but good quality.
• Dad and mum are beginning to ask themselves: am I paying for schooling or for packaging?

WHAT'S NEXT?

Two things are important. First, we need openness—what portion of our fees is actually put into teaching, and how schools account for their expenses.e

Second, perhaps it is time to rethink where education value lies. If quality instruction is beyond the Rs 4 lakh range, then why not shine a light on that?