{"id":15255,"date":"2019-06-03T11:37:50","date_gmt":"2019-06-03T06:07:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fundsindia.com\/blog\/?p=15255"},"modified":"2019-11-07T13:49:19","modified_gmt":"2019-11-07T08:19:19","slug":"childrens-education-when-parents-aspire-without-a-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fundsindia.com\/blog\/mf-basics\/childrens-education-when-parents-aspire-without-a-plan\/15255","title":{"rendered":"Children\u2019s education \u2013 when parents aspire without a plan"},"content":{"rendered":"

When I met some of my school teachers in a reunion, one of our teachers commented on how parents\u2019 view on education has changed over years. If the debate was about CBSE or state board earlier, it is about ICSE (Indian certificate of secondary education) or IB (International Baccalaureate) board now. If it was IIT or private engineering college earlier, it is about US or UK or Canada for undergraduate studies now.<\/p>\n

Aspirations have changed. But so also the cost of funding such aspirations. Agreed, funding options too have undergone a change. There are more education loan options available today than two decades ago. However, how many Indian parents allow their children to repay the loan, especially undergraduate loans? Also, how many students land up in a job abroad, in order to comfortably repay the loan?<\/p>\n\"\"\n

Our experience tells us that many parents face the following situations when it comes to their children\u2019s education: one,<\/strong> when they put their children in top international schools with fee running to several lakhs and also run a home loan EMI, their ability to save for the future considerably declines. So, while they aspire for quality education for their child, their own savings is in complete jeopardy.<\/p>\n

Two,<\/strong> parents who assume that their child will go to a college in India for their bachelor\u2019s programme, are suddenly taken aback when they realise that their child is facing immense peer pressure, during high school, to apply for schools abroad. This leaves them far less prepared and leads to sudden EMI commitments that they struggle to manage. Three,<\/strong> parents often underestimate the job potential especially when their child does an undergraduate degree or does an obscure 1-year international degree in some non-specialised field. This leaves them saddled with loans that only they can repay even as the child continues to remain a dependent. And soon after the masters cost kicks in.<\/p>\n

I am not going to sit in judgment over parents\u2019 wisdom of sending their kids abroad. Let me focus on the difficulties and learnings from those who aspire without a plan in place.<\/p>\n

Can\u2019t have them all<\/h3>\n

Unless parents are in a high-paying job or have an established business running, aspiring for international schools may be an uphill task; if they follow it up with further education abroad And then, we have this goal, unique perhaps to Indian parents called \u2018wedding expenses\u2019. Now, that essentially means saving up simultaneously for education and wedding and, of course, fervently hoping some money will last for your retirement after all this! When confronted with such a situation, here are some options that parents should consider:<\/p>\n