Preschool chains race to smaller towns for slice of teaching pie

PUNE: Her husband's posting took Seema Gadkari to Ahmednagar. The mother of a three-year-old, who had lived in Pune and was aware of its education standards, was worried.
“I was apprehensive about the quality of preschools in Ahmednagar, but to my surprise I found some branded ones. They were few but they had a presence here too,“ she said.
Rekha Phatake from Sangli jumped on the bandwagon after seeing her neighbour's child in preschool.“The child's development impressed us and we decided to send our five-year-old son to a big-name preschool. It is a trend now in our neighbourhood. Our kids speak good English, and we are happy to spend for their education if it has these returns.“
Going to school begins as early as age two and not just in metros or cities like Pune, but in smaller towns too.
Till recently , parents from semi-urban areas would prefer to keep a child at home till age five before scouting for the right school. Fees, quality and proximity influenced decisions.
However, in the past few years, parents have realized that educational achievement is all about how the early bird cat ches the worm. “ At the same time, we feel starting early would help our children meet standards required in urban areas.Early education bridges the dual gaps,“ some parents said.
This stream of thinking has taken preschool chains to Tier III and Tier IV cities of Baramati, Indapur, Osmanabad, Jalgaon, Miraj, Sangli and Nanded where they find willing parents for early child education.
Experts said a growing middle class, rising incomes and demands for preschools with a brand name are drawing the crowd.
Moreover, preschools in Maharashtra are in line with a change in teaching methods and scientific studies that point to a higher development among children between two and six years of age, they added.
Semi-urban parents, spurred by the idea that a sooner start would translate into learning more, are keen that their children learn the alphabet, numbers, rhymes, some socializing, and a bit of play__already apattern in urban areas. It's the perfect template for chains of preschools to step in.
The initial apprehension of entering into tier II and III cities has now turned into optimism as parents believe that a child needs proper exposure before getting into a formal school, preschool chain owners said.
Jayesh Nair, vice-president, T.I.M.E. Kids Pvt Ltd said, “A few years ago, spending thou sands of rupees for education of toddlers was unheard of. We want to get to the districts and smalls towns of Maharashtra.In the next 2-3 years, we will go to Ballarpur, Barshi, Jalgaon, Bhiwandi, Bhusawal, Ichalkaranji, Nalasopara, Osmanabad, Parbhani, Vasai and Yavatmal. we have set a target of 50­80 cities and small towns. The aim is to generate more than 40% of the revenue from small towns in the next 2-3 years, which is approximately 10% now.“
Brainy Bear, a chain of pre schools, which has a presence across India and is now entering the market in Maharashtra, has identified 10 centres in as many districts within a year.Like they do in other states, they will focus on Tier II and Tier III areas for expansion.
Pallavi Rao Chaturvedi, founder of the preschool chain, said, “Earlier, all big preschool chains focussed on cities but with better spending power and an increased awareness about the need for quality early childhood education, the focus is gradually shifting to districtand below-district-level areas.“
“We realized that there was a huge gap in quality learning and teaching for toddlers in the semi-urban and urban areas.We launched Brainy Bear to provide a combination of affordable and high quality , structured preschool and early childhood education in Tier II and Tier III cities. We are looking at expansion across all big districts and towns,“ said Chaturvedi.
The preschool industry comes under the informal education system as there is no regulation governing it. Rajiv Bhatia, managing director of the Tree House playschool chain, said, “The brand's expansion will be through company-owned centres and chosen franchisee centres in two formats __ an urban model where the centre would be technology-driven with English language content and a less technology driven model for district-level places where the centres would offer the same quality of learning techniques as urban centric model but with an increased use of Hindi language content.“
Learning methods in preschools have evolved over the years, recognising the need to groom children in the two to six years age. The change in teaching also underscores the fact that preschools are evolving from mere playgroups to schools that define a child's cognitive and intellectual capabilities.
There is also employment generation. Smriti Iyer, a preschool teacher based in Baramati, said, “With the government not showing any signs of recruiting BEd candidates in government schools, preschool chains have provided a great opportunity to education degree holders. Three to four batches at a preschool would easily require a staff of eight to ten. So these chains help the semi-urban, educated population secure jobs within their hometown, which also restricts migration to big cities to a certain degree.'