'Indian parents aren't saving for dreams, but for fees': CA explains why he is worried about his 2.5 year old daughter

Chartered Accountant and business entrepreneur Deepak Bhati has expressed major concerns regarding the rapidly escalating expense of private schooling in India, stating that parents now are not saving anymore for dreams but to only pay school fees. In a LinkedIn post, Bhati mentioned that his daughter is just two-and-a-half years old, yet he is already concerned about how much it costs to send her to school. His post has brought forth extensive debate on social media regarding the cost of education in urban India.

'Education today isn't just expensive, it's unaffordable'

“My daughter is just 2.5 years old… and I’m already scared. Not of her going to school. But of the price tag that comes with it,” Bhati wrote. He pointed out that in Tier-1 cities, parents now spend between ₹2.5–3.5 lakh annually per child on school-related expenses, which include fees, books, uniforms, and transport.

Bhati told this amount of expenditure can gobble up 40–50% of a middle-class household's annual earnings. "Not only is education costly now, it's getting out of reach," he said.

To put the enormity of the problem into perspective, he cited instances from around the nation. For the CBSE level, Class 3 charges are already ₹2.1 lakh annually. In Hyderabad, nursery charges alone have hit ₹2.51 lakh every year, or close to ₹21,000 each month.

Parents saving for fees, not aspirations

Bhati’s said: “Parents aren’t saving for dreams anymore. They’re saving for fees.” He explained that the education challenge goes beyond the choice between private and government schools.

In his words, "Admission feels like an auction. Tuition feels like an EMI. And quality still feels like a lottery." 

"Yes, we all want the best for our children. But if knowledge becomes a privilege, not a right – we're not creating a smarter generation. We're creating a divided one," he said.

His remarks identify concerns that high-quality education will increasingly only be available to richer families, with the rest of the population fighting to cover even the most basic education costs. The broadening gap, he said, could eventually result in unequal opportunities.

While increasing online debate, Bhati’s post sparked responses from several professionals and parents on LinkedIn who shared their own experiences. Some agreed that education is becoming the single largest expense in a household budget, while others pointed out how additional costs such as extracurricular activities, digital learning tools, and transport further increase the financial burden.

Numerous commentators concurred with his perception that even if charging hefty fees, the education quality is not always ensured, further frustrating parents.

A mirror of urban realities

The debate reflects a wider pattern in India's urban centers, where middle-class households encounter increased costs of schooling, medicine, and accommodation. Education, traditionally a bridge to upward mobility, is slowly coming to be perceived as an economic battle that decides family priorities.

Bhati’s post, though personal, reflects a common sentiment among parents: that while they want to invest in their children’s future, the growing price tag of school education is forcing them to rethink their financial plans.