Why is private education so expensive?

 When my son was admitted into an elite university and a manager in my office saw the amount I paid for the first month, he exclaimed, "This is ten times more than my father spent on my entire education!"

That was thirty years ago. Today, education costs a hell of a lot more than it did in those days. My grandchildren go to schools that charge  forty thousand rupees a month, and their university education will probably cost more than three times that amount. The question is, why is education so expensive?

When I was admitted into St. Patrick's High School in Karachi, the monthly charge was only Rs. 10. One fine day, when I was in class 5 or 6, the school authorities raised the fees to Rs. 25 a month (this would be the equivalent of Rs. 5,000 a month today, much less than what private schools charge today). In those days, the standard of education even in government school was good, but today (after fifty years of nationalization), government schools are useless. Even the manager I mentioned was educated in government school and college, so I know what I'm talking about. He can't speak a sentence in English, though he's 62. He can't even calculate simple arithmetical sums, like percentage and multiplication without the use of a calculator. 

Obviously, education in private schools and universities is much better, which is why so many parents want their children to go to such institutions. But there is no reason for it to cost so much. Unless the government improves the standard of education in its schools, children of those who belong to the middle and lower classes will always be semi-literate.