Page 53 - EW JAN 2022
P. 53

NATIONAL ROLLOUT OF INDIA’S































             Sri Chaitanya School students: great leapforward into 21st century digital technologies enabled education

             remain anonymous.                                 primary-secondary education.
                Among the first major private education groups off the   Thus far despite SCGI having steadily grown into “Asia’s
             blocks to transform the threat posed to K-12 education into   largest school chain” with 750 K-12 schools and junior col-
             a rejuvenation opportunity is the Hyderabad/Vijayawada-  leges including 322 state boards-affiliated K-10 Sri Chait-
             based Sri Chaitanya Group of Institutions (SCGI), a well-  anya Techno Schools, 107 K-12 Sri Chaitanya Schools af-
             known name in K-10 and junior college (classes XI-XII))   filiated with the Delhi-based Central Board of Secondary
             education. Over the past three decades SCGI has acquired   Education (CBSE) and 321 state boards affiliated junior
             an excellent reputation for preparing students for highly   colleges with an aggregate enrolment of 650,000 students
             competitive entrance exams of the country’s top-ranked   mentored by 29,360 teachers, its brief post-entrance exams
             engineering and medical undergrad colleges.       print media advertising salvoes aside, it has maintained a
                Every spring after school examination boards announce   low public profile restricted to Andhra Pradesh, Telangana
             their results, daily newspapers in peninsular India harvest   and perhaps Deccan plateau states. But in the past few post-
             an advertising revenue windfall as test-prep (aka coaching)   pandemic months, its highly qualified second generation
             schools such as Akash, FIT-JEE, Allen, Narayana Group   management team has launched several initiatives signal-
             among others, purchase full-page ads to proclaim their   ling unambiguous intent to establish SCGI as a significant
             students who top IIT-JEE/Advanced, NEET and AIIMS   force in India’s K-12 education sector.
             entrance exams. To this list add SCGI which claims that a   In early 2021, when the country’s entire education sys-
             steady 20-25 percent of school-leavers who enter the coun-  tem was in lockdown, SCGI promoted its first major edtech
             try’s 22 globally renowned IITs, 31 NITs (National Insti-  subsidiary (Rankguru Technology Solutions Pvt. Ltd) which
             tutes of Technology) and premier medical colleges which   has launched Infinity Learn, the group’s first hi-tech on-
             administer stiff entrance exams, are its alumni. SCGI is in   line education platform. In quick time on June 24, Infinity
             the vanguard of major test-prep oriented institutions to   Learn launched its Sri Chaitanya Outstanding Achievers
             transform the pandemic national lockdown into a great   Reward Examination (SCORE) with a high-voltage promo-
             leap forward into new-technologies enabled 21st century   tional programme on NDTV 24x7, the well-reputed English

                                                                              JANUARY 2022    EDUCATIONWORLD   53
   48   49   50   51   52   53   54   55   56   57   58