A representative image showing a school classroom.
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A post shared on X by the father of a first grader has gone viral after he lamented that good education is a luxury for the middle class in India, sharing a photo of a Jaipur school's fee slip.
Posting about the fee structure on social media, Rishabh Jain revealed that one of the schools they are considering for their child is charging them Rs 4,27,000 per year.
He even shared the breakdown of the fee claiming that all the good schools in the city have a similar fee structure.
As per fee slip, the school charged Rs 2,000 for registration, an admission fee of Rs 40,000, Rs 5,000 caution money that is refundable, and an annual fee of Rs 2,52,000. Apart from this, bus charges, and book and uniform charges were listed as Rs 1,08,000 and Rs 20,000 respectively.
Jain claimed that even if one earns Rs 20 lakh a year, quality education is unaffordable in India.
"Because 50 per cent of your $20k income is extorted by the government in form of Income Tax, GST, VAT on petrol, Road tax, Toll Tax, Professional tax, Capital Gain, Land Registry charges and so on. Then you still have to pay for term insurance, health insurance premiums, and PF, NPS for a old age pension. At 20L income you fall in the highest 30 per cent + CESS tax bracket, do not qualify for government schemes, and do not receive any freebies or loan waivers like rich," he wrote in the post.
Jain told users that in the remaining Rs 10 lakh they could either fulfill their basic needs like food, clothes, rent, EMI and save money, or they could pay school fees for two children.
However, several people on social media accused him of exaggerating the numbers.
"Bro it feels like you are exaggerating the numbers! And also purposefully you have picked the costliest school in your city to make this tweet! Not trying to disregard the fact that yes in our country quality edu is a joke and cess that govt collect for edu goes to politicians(sic)," a user wrote on X, to which Jain responded by saying: "Sorry that I am trying to find best school for my daughter like any parent would."
Other users also prompted Jain to admit his children in government schools claiming that there was no guarantee of quality education in quality schools.
Some people also pointed out that the fee slip is of an international board school, hence it should not be considered middle class.
While many agreed with Rishabh Jain, they also pointed out that he had picked one of the most expensive schools in the city to make a point.
"Dear Rishabh, This is not the cost of quality education, it is the cost of maintaining your standard in society. For quality education, please head to the nearest convent school where they still offer good education at 50k per year. I subscribe to your dilemma though, we want to send kids to a branded school to ensure we do not fall back in our social status. It is a dilemma 99 per cent people face in your given position," a user commented.