Educomp Solutions on Tuesday announced plans to set up budget schools, to be called the Vidya Prabhat schools, in small towns and rural areas across the country. The firm said it will set up five such schools by July 2009, and increase the number to 100 in the next 2-3 years. The schools will charge students INR 700 per month. The first schools will come up at Bazpur, Gadarpur, Kashipur and Bahl Parav in Uttarakhand. Educomp will invest close to INR 70 lakh per school and expects each school to enroll about 700 students. The schools will focus on providing affordable conventional education, using latest educational methods, aided by technology, as well as vocational training. 'There is a shortage of over two lakh schools in the country, especially in small towns and rural areas. Also, most of the tier 3 cities do not have access to schools that offer quality education, usually available in large towns and metros. We hope to fill this gap,' said Educomp Solutions CEO Shantanu Prakash.
In a separate filing to the BSE, the firm said it is going to appoint Grant Thornton as its internal auditor. Educomp Solutions shares have taken a beating since rumours of financial irregularities at the firm surfaced.
