By Manoj Kumar

NEW DELHI, (Reuters) – Waqar Khan, an Indian financial advisor has had his income fall by around a fifth ever since the outbreak of coronavirus. His younger son was being charged 10% more at his private school this year. He couldn’t help but move him to state education.

Living with three kids and in New Delhi as the capital of India, the 45 year-old cannot afford the private school tuition for his 10-year-old boy. In 2021, he moved his oldest son into a school of state education.

Khan said that Khan had no choice but to tell Reuters that rising educational costs were a result of a 25% rise in household expenditures over the last two years.

The most severe effects of inflation are felt by the least fortunate, but the well-off face the same pressure as the rest to reduce household spending.

Khan is one of millions of parents that have switched their children to public education, either from elite schools or to lower-priced ones. Over 4% of schoolchildren switched to the state in 2021 as a result, with four million kids switching from private schools to state.

This is an inversion of the trend that has been sweeping India for the past 20 years, when more people in a better-off society chose private education in order to provide their children with an edge in the job marketplace.

Inflation has rendered such dreams unaffordable.

“My family is in turmoil. Khan shared that she feels often distressed and helpless about not being able provide a good education for her children, despite having worked hard.

The school his daughter is a 12-year-old student at, remains the same as when he was 10, because he couldn’t find a state place for her.

The appeal of English lessons and higher teaching for the rapidly-growing middle class is immense.

The private sector offers a wide range of school and fee options, starting at a few bucks a month up to hundreds. It serves wealthy families and those with lower incomes.

Parents’ associations stated that transport companies who take their children to school raised the prices of these vehicles by 15% in Delhi this month. This was to offset higher wages and fuel costs.

Arjun Singh (47), who owns three school taxis and a school van, stated that he raised his fees by as much as 35% due to higher costs. According to him, the cost of compressed gas (CNG), had nearly doubled.

Broader inflation is biting hard, touching 6.95% in March – a 17-month high and above the central bank’s target, and economists say that households are bracing for worse as companies pass on the costs.

‘ADVERSE CONSEQUENCES’

Aparajita Gautam (president of Delhi Parents Association) stated that many private schools raised their fees and charges this year by over 15%, though some delayed it during the worst pandemic.

Her group has been protesting at several private schools in the capital. This brought the authorities and media attention to the matter.

The Delhi government responded by simplifying the process for enrolling in public education. They also promised to audit schools accounts and encourage fees increases of 10%.

Gautam explained that many private schools make it difficult for parents to pay steep fees or accept adverse consequences.

Nearly 70% of Kolkata’s private schools increased their fees last month by as much as 20%. Some parents are asking authorities for help to get schools to ease the pain.

Schools are defending higher fees.

Sudha Acharya (head of the National Progressive Schools’ Conference, principal at ITL Public School) understood that parents are going through difficult times, while schools face rising costs.

She said, “It is very difficult to maintain quality without raising school fees again.”

A consultancy based in Delhi, Centre Square Foundation found that the majority of Indian private schools, which charge up to 1000 rupees per month ($13), suffered financial losses between 20% and 50% during the pandemic.

Some schools reduced teachers’ salaries as parents defaulted. Schools also closed thousands more schools catering to families with lower incomes, according to both school associations and the state authorities.

Private school enrollment has risen to over 35% from 9% in 1993. Nearly 50% of families spend almost 20% of their income on education according to industry and government estimates.

If a family has a monthly income between 20,000 and50,000 rupees ($260 to $650), they might spend 2,000-10,000. A month could be spent on tuition, while another 1,500 or 5,000 on transportation.

DEBT TRAP

Private schools are home to approximately 90 million Indian students.

In 2019/20, the federal and state government spent about 6.43 trillion rupees ($84billion) on approximately 1.1million schools. That’s 3.1% of GDP.

Economists stated that rising tuition costs in private schools were not adequately captured by inflation data. This is because the index, which uses a decade-old model to calculate consumer prices, only weights it at 4.5%.

Devendra Pant is the chief economist of India Ratings (the Indian arm of Fitch Ratings) and said that increasing education costs was part of the second wave of inflation faced by Indian households following a rise of global and other commodity prices.

It would have a significant impact on the monthly budget of households and may force people to reduce their spending on products and services.

Many parents are caught up in debt traps that can rob their children’s education.

Sanjay Kumar Vaghela (a Ahmedabad taxi driver) said that he couldn’t afford the tuition for his daughter and the 18,000 rupees she owes him.

Before issuing a transfer certification, the school demanded that he pay any outstanding fees. This was a condition for admission to any state school.

He said, “My daughter could remain unschooled forever because I don’t have the funds to pay.”

($1 = 76.4830 Indian dollars)