EdServ details Rs 40 cr investment plan

Chennai-based Education Services Company (EdServ) has launched the EdServ Training Institute (EDI), an Instructor-Led-Training (ILT) centre. The company is planning to invest Rs 40 crore in the initiative.

The company plans to use the franchisee network route to offer academic support and vocational training courses, including tuition, coaching, test prep and job-oriented training apart from placement support, according to company’s release.

EdServ already has a range of e-content along with onl-ine test prep engine as part of its flagship Lampsglow.com that shall power these brick-and-mortar learning services in EDI.

EdServ has tied up with A-Team Edutech Ltd, an education management company, for the supply of tablet PCs to the EdServ Training Institute which in turn will offer a tablet PC free with specific preloaded course content.

The instructor-led training courses will comprise of coaching for CA, IITJEE, AIEEE, AIPMT, CAT and all other competitive exams in the national and international arena, including TOEFL and GRE, academic support tuition from KG, right up to PG that include both CBSE and state board subjects as well as engineering semester exam support, Job skills and life skills training such as spoken English, soft-skills and IT skills all under one roof in a brick-mnd-Mortar training centre with tablet PC-based extended learning support to every student.

S Giridharan, chairman and CEO, EdServ, commented that while on the one hand we have ound that a large number of students in tier II and tier owns are still not able to utilise technology gadgets to gain access to online and Internet-based education, on the other, there is no national brand offering a combined brick and mortar, and online academic support services.

“Given our strong presence in the online segment, we believe the present scenario presents EdServ with a great opportunity to tap the brick and mortar model of academic support services as well.”

EdServ is aiming to go pan-India and plans to open 200 franchisee-led EdServ Training Institutes across the country, including about 80 centres in South India within the next six months.

EdServ already has 1000s of distributors, dealers and master franchisees for Lampsglow apart from its skill development centres (MODES) and the company plans to upgrade many of them into partners for the brick and mortar model as well.

The company will initially invest close to Rs 40 crore for the expansion and is targeting revenues of over Rs 20 crore from the EdServ Training Institutes on the first year of operation.

source: http://www.Business-Standard.com / Home> Economy & Policy / by BS Reporter / Chennai, March 13th, 2012