After Chandigarh, Haryana has costliest school education in country: NSS data

The average spending per student on school education in Haryana during an academic year is Rs 25,720, ranking second only to Chandigarh and more than double the national average, according to the Comprehensive Modular Survey: Education, 2025, part of the 80th round of the National Sample Survey (NSS).

Chandigarh's school education costs Rs 49,711 per academic year. In the cases of Punjab (Rs 22,692) and Himachal Pradesh (Rs 18,305), the amounts are significantly lower. The national average is Rs 12,616 per academic year.

Case of Haryana

The expenditure on male children for school education in Haryana is higher than that on female children. The annual cost is Rs 27,697 for a male child and Rs 23,465 for a female child.

In government schools of the state, the expenditure on a child's school education is significantly lower at Rs 4,479 per academic year. However, when it comes to private-aided schools, the expenditure jumps to Rs 48,636, and for private-unaided schools, it is Rs 39,015.

Haryana has more school students in private institutions. It has 41.2 per cent of its students enrolled in government schools, 11.9 per cent in private-aided schools and 45.7 per cent in private unaided schools (recognised).

It was revealed that when examining the average expenditure on a school student item-wise in Haryana, Rs 16,405 (63.8 per cent) was spent on the course fee. In comparison, the expenditure on transportation amounted to Rs 3,633 (14.2 per cent); Rs 1,966 (7.6 per cent) was spent on uniforms, Rs 2,852 (11.1 per cent) on textbooks and stationery, and Rs 865 (3.4 per cent) on other expenses.

Private coaching in Haryana

The trend of private coaching in Haryana is lower than the national average. Only 11 per cent of students were taking or had taken private coaching during the current academic year, across different levels of enrolment in Haryana. The figure was 27 per cent across India, while it was 32.9 per cent for Chandigarh and 26.8 per cent for Punjab.

Himachal Pradesh had recorded a lower rate than Haryana at 7.7 per cent.

Coaching for skill development, extracurricular activities like art, dance, music classes etc., and for games were not considered in the survey.

While the average expenditure on private coaching per student during an academic year is Rs 1,366 in Haryana, it is even lower in HP at Rs 437. In Chandigarh, it is Rs 5,650, and in Punjab, it is Rs 1,732. The all-India average is Rs 2,409.

At the higher secondary level, the average expenditure on private coaching was Rs 7,857 in urban areas of Haryana, while the all-India figure was Rs 9,950. For Chandigarh coaching, it was Rs 20,688, and for Punjab, it was Rs 2,307. For HP, it was mere Rs 1,135 for an academic year.