In Public Interest: Lakhs for LKG? Telangana’s sky-high school fees

In Hyderabad, sending a five-year-old to kindergarten in a private school can cost parents up to Rs 1 lakh in tuition fees alone. Add to that expenses for transport, uniforms, books, lunch, field trips, annual events, and other charges — and the cost easily shoots up by another Rs 50,000 a year.

This is not just a Hyderabad problem — skyrocketing private school fees have become a burden for parents across India. For decades, parents and civil society groups in Telangana have been demanding fee regulation, but successive governments have failed to act.

Earlier this year, the Telangana Education Commission drafted the Private Schools and Junior Colleges Fee Regulatory and Monitoring Commission Bill, 2025. The Bill proposes categorising schools, setting upper limits on fees based on actual costs, and imposing penalties of up to Rs 10 lakh on schools that flout the rules. It was submitted in January — but with another academic year around the corner, the legislation remains stuck, as Chief Minister Revanth Reddy’s government is reluctant to table the bill in the assembly.

Despite only 28% of Telangana schools being private, nearly 60% of the state’s 73 lakh students study in them. Parents are left with little choice but to pay or protest.

In this episode of In Public Interest, Shabbir Ahmed and Jahnvi examine the fee crisis, government inaction, and parents’ dec