Zoho CEO Sridhar Vembu Criticizes Rising Education Costs Linked to Real Estate Inflation
Zoho CEO Sridhar Vembu recently wrote on social media about an important problem that millions of families are facing: the growing cost of education, which he says is caused by the rising prices of real estate in cities. Venture capitalist Aviral Bhatnagar had said that kindergarten fees in Hyderabad have hit an unbelievable Rs 3.7 lakh per year. This is what Vembu said in response.
Vembu wasn't afraid to say what he thought. He said that the problem of affordability in education is linked to the bigger problem of expensive real estate, which is making prices go up in many areas, such as shopping and healthcare. Vembu says that these high prices aren't just a quirk of the market; they're the result of bigger problems with the system as a whole. "Education is getting more and more expensive." "A big reason for this is that real estate in cities and even in small towns is getting very expensive," he wrote on X, the site that used to be Twitter.
Vembu added that he thought the problem might have something to do with crooked politicians. He said that money that comes from graft is often invested in real estate, which makes prices go up more than what the market would normally allow. According to Vembu, this means that regular people have to pay more for things like housing, schooling, and health care. "A lot of dirty money from politics is "parked" in real estate, which drives up prices above what the market would normally allow." He went on to say, "In a way, we all pay for political corruption by having to pay more for housing, schools, and health care."
The CEO's comments add to growing worries that the cost of living is making things harder for many people. As the cost of living in cities goes up, families have to make hard decisions about their children's schooling. They often have to stretch their budgets or give up quality. Many people agree with Vembu that the economy is under more pressure than just market forces but also from deeper, systematic problems.
To help with these problems, Vembu also talked about some of Zoho's programs that try to lessen the effects of high school costs. He said that Zoho is putting money into education by building schools in remote places where land is still cheap. "But we can only do it in deep rural areas where land is affordable," he said. Customers can attend the company's schools for free, which is a big step towards giving people in areas with less money access to good education.
This method shows Zoho's larger commitment to social responsibility and shows one way to deal with educational inequality made worse by rising home prices. This idea might not be the answer to all of the problems in urban schools, but it does provide a positive option for places that aren't as densely populated with cities.
When Vembu talks about how real estate pricing hurts schools and other important services, it starts a very important conversation about how politics, the economy, and quality of life all affect each other. As the fight goes on, it will be important for both policymakers and business leaders to come up with new ways to make sure that everyone can still get an education at a price they can afford, even if the cost of living in cities goes up.
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