New Delhi, Jun 29 (UNI) With the cost of schooling, especially privately run schools, becoming prohibitive and rising steeply, even well to do parents choose to have a single child, a survey by an apex business chamber shows.According to an ASSOCHAM survey, school expenses excluding tuition fees have risen from Rs 25,000 in 2000 to Rs 65,000 per annum in 2008 for a child. The annual income, however, of an average economically better off family has not risen by more than 28 percent to 30 per cent during this period.
In the random survey nearly 2,000 working parents were interviewed in cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Lucknow, Dehradun, Pune, Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai and Chandigarh by the ASSOCHAM research team. The survey was conducted during the months of April-May 2008.
The survey brought to light that nine out of 10 parents find meeting their ward's school costs "very" difficult.
These expenses include uniforms, books, stationery, transport, sports activities, school trips, contributions to up gradation of schools, and school aids. The total expenses for learning are many times higher than school fees.
The following table gives details of average annual expenses for a child in 2008:
ITEM COST (RS)
Shirt/ Trousers/Skirts 2500
Shoes 3500
Bag/Bottles 1500
Sports Kit 2000
Text books 3000
School trips 2500
School Clubs 1500
Technology 1500
Packed lunches + Transport + Tution 32800
Building Fund 10,000
Fairs 3000
Stationery/Newspapers 3000
Nearly one in ten respondents indicated that the cost associated with schooling has affected their choice of the school they send their wards to.
Sixty five per cent of parents spend more than half their take-home salary on their children's education, which is a significant burden on the family budgets.
A high 60 per cent of parents complained that education was now being run like a commercial enterprise. The high tuition fee is not justified by the services rendered by schools. Besides, the erratic fee hike effected each year by the school managements isan irritant.
An estimated over 30 million children are educated in private schools, with fees usually rising well above the inflation rate.
Parents are also concerned at schools putting pressure on them to make so-called 'voluntary contributions,' the survey said.
The survey shows that the cost of private day schools, with an average annual fee of Rs 60,000, is considerably higher in metropolitan cities. Private prep schools for those aged 3 to 5 cost about 25,000 a term.
Sixty five per cent of parents spend more than half their take-home salary on their children's education, which is a significant burden on the family budgets.
A high 60 per cent of parents complained that education was now being run like a commercial enterprise. The high tuition fee is not justified by the services rendered by schools. Besides, the erratic fee hike effected each year by the school managements isan irritant.
An estimated over 30 million children are educated in private schools, with fees usually rising well above the inflation rate.
Parents are also concerned at schools putting pressure on them to make so-called 'voluntary contributions,' the survey said.
The survey shows that the cost of private day schools, with an average annual fee of Rs 60,000, is considerably higher in metropolitan cities. Private prep schools for those aged 3 to 5 cost about 25,000 a term.
The long and short of the story is that while family planning did not make much headway in India, the high cost of schooling has done the trick of having smaller families.
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