22/09/2026
Indian Parents: Don’t Send Your Kids to a Rich School If You’re Not Rich
Don’t stretch your finances just to put your child in the most expensive school you can afford. The right school is not necessarily the richest school.
You don’t need to become poorer to feel poor—you only need to change your comparison group. A great school means little if your child feels poor every single day.
Parents compare schools; children compare themselves with other children. That’s the part parents often miss.
A parent may think, “I gave my child more than I could afford.”
The child may think, “My parents gave me less than everyone around me.”
Both can experience the same childhood and remember it completely differently.
Imagine paying lakhs in school fees, only for your child to feel inferior every day. Other children may arrive in BMWs while your child arrives in a Maruti. Your child might say, “Papa, don’t bring the car to the school gate. Park a little farther away; I’ll walk from there.”
Why? Because he may not want his classmates to see him getting into a Maruti or think, “His father doesn’t have money.” Before entering that school, he may never have considered his father’s car embarrassing.
Children don’t compare only expensive things. They notice small, visible differences every day—lunch boxes, shoes, birthday parties, pocket money, school trips, bags, phones and after-school activities.
Your child may not say, “My parents can’t afford this.” Instead, they may say:
“I don’t want to go.”
“I don’t like that restaurant.”
“I already ate.”
“I don’t want to come to the birthday party.”
The hiding becomes excuse-making, and the child may begin to feel inferior.
Parents may think their child is becoming introverted. In reality, the child may simply be protecting themselves from situations they cannot afford.
Education is not about expensive school fees or fancy infrastructure. It is about building confidence, discovering yourself, developing abilities and uplifting yourself.
Choose a school where your child can learn, grow and feel confident—not simply one with the highest fees.
