Thursday, June 25, 2009

TUTORVISTA TIES UP WITH CHAUDHARY GROUP

Peerzada Abrar and Sarah Jacob, Bangalore
The Economic Times (Bangalore edition)

Online education services company TutorVista has formed a joint venture with Nepal-based Chaudhary Group, a $250-million business group. The joint-venture company is in the final stage of acquiring the management of a chain of schools in Nepal, which will be re-branded as CG Manipal Schools, a TutorVista official said in an interview.

The Chaudhary Group is currently in the business of snack foods and beverages, automobile distribution and real-estate in Nepal. “There is a strong, unmet demand for quality education in Nepal. Manipal K-12 Education required a local partner to extend this education expertise into schools there,” founder and CEO of TutorVista, K Ganesh, said. ManipalK-12 Education is concerned with providing technology solutions as well as building and acquiring management of schools. This alliance will help TutorVista to expand outside India.

Based in Bangalore, TutorVista services around 10,000 students, primarily in the US, through over 800 Indian teachers. In order to establish its presence in the domestic market, TutorVista had acquired e-learning curriculum content provider Edurite Technologies in 2007. In February this year, Manipal Education and Medical Group (MEMG) invested around $15 million fresh into TutorVista, ET had reported earlier. As a result , Edurite Technologies was rebranded as Manipal K-12 Education.

“Internet-based education has worked very well in the US, but the internet and PC penetration in India and the mindset to be tutored online is very low. This is why we have used a hybrid model for the Indian market, where we combine technology with class-room teaching,” Ganesh, said.

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