EDUCATION INFLATION

9.62% 8% 10%

Specialization, innovation, speed, and excellence are the aims of modern learning. Students have ample opportunities to adept and make themselves informative and knowledge without limitations. This model opens the doors and eases the difficulties for students to achieve their goals. With the adoption of modern education system which is very expensive and beyond accessible to the mass particularly for developing countries, may leads to different problems of seamless adoption. Lack of funds, hefty higher education cost, illiteracy and problems of primary education can be considered as few of main burning problems. The pressure to pursue higher education and the competitive admissions process means students will pay higher amounts in tuition, prompting colleges to raise their prices.

If we analyses the education inflation rate in India, it was 0.63 % in April 2021 and 1.00 % in May 2021 but has further increased to 4.12 % and 4.09 % (approx.) in the corresponding months of 2022, respectively, as per the data shared by The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. Apart from fees which constitute about half of the total spends on education, there are various other miscellaneous expenses that make for a costly education. The cost of education in India increased by about 10-12 per cent. Periodic increases in not just the tuition fee but also the cost of transportation and various exams impact overall spending.

To have a better understanding about the modern education cost we have to first understand the concept of education or definition of education cost. .Educational cost is a measure of what a student, an institution of learning, or the public has to give up in order to educate an individual or a group of people. Cost of education may he incurred by educational institutions or by students and their parents. It is worth noting that the actual fees form only a part of the total expenses involved in education. Indicates that the fees charged by an institution is not just the tuition fees, but other expenses such as examination fees, building/ development fees and other charges levied by institutions accounted for only around 40% of total education expenses in rural areas and 60% in urban areas. Books and other study material account for a substantial chunk of the money spent, especially in rural areas, and transport costs are significant everywhere. Besides, private tuition costs itself constitute very significant portion of entire education cost, questioning the quality of the institutionally provided learning may not be good enough to meet the desired needs of students, despite the relatively high costs. Education cost creating a situation in which education beyond the secondary level is essentially unaffordable for most working people, and even school education involves costs for families that can be very high.

If we analyse the influencing factors affecting the cost of education-it could be teacher’s salary, student-teachers mix /class size, infusion of new areas of learning such as artificial intelligence/ robotics and teaching times etc. The primary reason behind this upward trend is said to be the infusion of technology and the desire of the people to give the best available and affordable education to their children. However, this sharp rise in educational expenditure comes with a lot of challenges. Quality education to all is a fundamental right and it is evident that there is a direct relationship between public investment in education, child development and empowerment. The disparity in income along with the pandemic situation has added more troubles for a lot of parents which is forcing most of them to compromise with their children education. India already has status of “Vishwa Guru” with the world’s largest higher education system with over 1000 universities and its presence in the global education field will ensure that it reaches newer heights, making education in India one of the best things for its school going children and its youth population largely.

With the government’s real initiative, not only fulfilling the dream of ‘Education for All’ will be achieved but will also ensure ‘Quality Education for All’ at affordable cost. India needs more quality institutes which can provide better education in affordable cost to common man of India. The importance of making education a priority, increasing its access, providing capable teachers, investing in their proper training, improving resources, and really finding ways to make institutions accountable for their actions, not just to the governing bodies but ultimately to the children, needs to be realized. Whether it is government, private aided, or the private unaided institutes, the question to ask is how can learning be made effective without throwing money at the problem and trying to find a temporary fix?