₹21,000 a month for nursery, says viral post: Netizens ask if Hyderabad schools now outprice Dubai

For India’s aspiring middle class, selecting a school is no longer a proud rite of passage; it’s a high-stakes financial gamble. And alarmingly, that gamble doesn’t begin in college or high school, but in the nursery classroom itself. That’s what a recent viral post suggests. The X (formerly Twitter) post sharing a photo of the annual fee structure of a private school in Hyderabad has triggered widespread outrage online, not just for its eye-popping numbers, but for what it represents. Shared by Anuradha Tiwari, founder of the Dharma Party of India, the post revealed that the school charges ₹2.51 lakh annually for nursery admission, effectively ₹21,000 per month. The post has reignited a national conversation on the cost of early education and the unchecked rise of private school fees in urban India.Tiwari’s scathing caption struck a chord across social platforms such as Instagram: “Now, learning ABCD will cost you ₹21,000 per month. What are these schools even teaching to justify such a ridiculously high fee?”And just like that, the debate on affordability, regulation, and parental burden exploded.

Not a school, a business?

As the post gained traction, many users expressed disbelief, questioning the moral and legal logic behind such steep pricing for pre-primary education. “I hope you can understand now why the school is so greedy, they are running a private school, and not a school,” wrote one user, capturing the sentiment of thousands who see this not as an isolated incident, but as part of a systemic failure.Another user remarked, “Is it even costlier than Dubai schools?” — a comparison that underscored the frustration and sense of injustice that many Indian parents feel when navigating today’s education market.

The nursery fee that felt like an insult

Nursery education, once a gentle start to learning, filled with rhymes, playtime, and basic literacy, has today become a luxury product. Schools promise world-class teaching methods, smart classrooms, imported toys, and even global exposure, but critics argue the price tags often serve status more than substance.The Hyderabad school’s fee slip also revealed charges of ₹2.42 lakh for Pre-Primary I and II, and ₹2.91 lakh for Classes 1 and 2, numbers that rival the annual fees of some top-tier professional colleges in the country.

The middle-class squeeze

For India’s urban middle class, education is non-negotiable. It is the primary tool for mobility and aspiration. But as one entrepreneur recently pointed out, school fees are now consuming nearly 19% of household income. Parents are reportedly taking out EMIs not for cars or homes — but for kindergarten.This is no longer about choice, but compulsion. The emotional and financial toll is steep: families cut down on savings, delay essential spending, and often feel trapped in an educational arms race they didn’t ask to join.

Policy in paralysis

Despite the presence of regulatory frameworks like the Right to Education Act, India still lacks strong mechanisms to monitor or cap private school fees. Institutions often cite infrastructure investments and staff salaries to defend rising costs, while governments mostly stay silent or passive.The result is a free market with minimal oversight, where children’s access to quality learning is shaped not by their potential, but by their parents’ paychecks.

Reimagining what school should be

The Hyderabad fee slip is not just a piece of paper. It is a symbol of the growing disconnect between education and equity in India. The outrage it sparked is justified, not just because of the cost, but because of what it reveals about who gets to learn, and at what price.A school is meant to be a space of curiosity and growth, not a showroom selling childhood as a luxury. No child should have to start their academic life with a five-figure monthly bill. And no parent should be forced into debt to teach their child the alphabet.Until the system is restructured, ₹21,000 a month for nursery classes will remain a stark reminder: in India today, even ABCD comes with a price tag, and it’s breaking more than just bank accounts.