Hyderabad: Tuition costs have overtaken school and junior college fees in the state, thanks to the huge demand for tuition centres / tutors. In fact, tuition fees are often double than school fees.
While the fees in most schools and junior colleges in the city range from Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh, the tuition fees are in the range of Rs 1.20 lakh to Rs 2.50 lakh per year.
Though the high tuition fees may not be a big problem for parents who can afford them, they impose a heavy financial burden on parents from middle-income groups.
Interestingly, demand for tuitions is more from these groups as these parents want their kids to excel in studies and secure good jobs since they cannot amass assets or money for their children with their limited income and they want their wards to do well in life.
“My son’s school fee is Rs 60,000 per year. But I am spending Rs 1.20 lakh per year on his tuitions for CBSE Class XI and XII to prepare him for IIT. It’s a huge burden for me as a private employee drawing Rs 40,000 per month, and we have cut down on our other costs to fund his education for these two years. Once he gets a seat in IIT, he is assured of a good job in future. Since I cannot give him any wealth or assets after my retirement, I want him to settle down in life in a better way with the help of his education,” said P. Kranthi Kumar.
A recent survey done by industry body Assocham revealed that tuition fees have gone up by 150 per cent in the last 10 years, making it difficult for salaried parents in big cities to afford them.
The survey titled ‘Rising school expenses irks parents’ by Assocham Social Development Foundation highlighted that school expenses of a single child including tuition fees have risen from Rs 55,000 in 2005 to Rs 1.25 lakh per annum in 2015. It also came to light that nine out of 10 parents find meeting their ward’s school cost very difficult.
