SUMMARY

A viral post on X has revived a question many parents have been asking for years: when does a school activity become too expensive? The post, shared by Alka Gurha, said a friend paid Rs 2.5 lakh for her son’s school trip to Japan in Class 8, apart from another Rs 50,000 for shopping. The same family had also reportedly spent Rs 90,000 on a three-night school trip to Goa just months earlier.

The Kendriya Vidyalaya comparison

The discussion online centred not only on the amount spent, but also on what that figure represents. At about Rs 2.5 lakh, the Japan trip costs more than 25 years of average annual fees at a Kendriya Vidyalaya, one of India’s largest government school networks. The comparison moved the conversation beyond one overseas school tour to a wider debate on the cost of education-related experiences and who can afford them.

According to the fee structure published by the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan, students in Classes 1 to 8 are exempt from tuition fees. Most students pay charges such as the Vidyalaya Vikas Nidhi and computer fund, which together usually come to a few thousand rupees a year, depending on the class. Based on fee schedules across classes, the average annual amount paid by many Kendriya Vidyalaya students is roughly Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000.

Using that benchmark, a Rs 2.5 lakh school trip is equal to around 25 to 30 years of Kendriya Vidyalaya education fees. In effect, the cost of one international school tour can be higher than what a student in the public school system may pay through their entire school education.

Global exchange programs on a rise

Schools are increasingly presenting overseas tours as opportunities for cultural exchange, global exposure and experiential learning. Destinations such as Japan, Singapore, Europe and the United States have become regular features in the annual activity calendars of many private schools. For students who take part, such trips can offer learning experiences outside the classroom, including exposure to different cultures, interaction with people from other countries and greater confidence.

At the same time, the cost of these programmes has risen sharply. Airfare, accommodation, insurance, local transport and organised activities often push the total expense into lakhs of rupees. For families with more than one child, these costs can match or even exceed annual school fees.

The viral post also referred to a Rs 90,000 Goa trip lasting just three nights, adding to concerns among parents that school activities are becoming closely tied to a family’s ability to pay, and that some students may feel excluded from experiences their classmates can afford.

Published on: Jun 9, 2026 1:11 PM IST