The Hindu Business Line : RM Group eyes foray into Indian education

It has taken the first steps in this direction with officials of RM Education Solutions India (RMESI), the group's Indian subsidiary based at the Technopark here, visiting some schools to get a feel of the teaching methods.

The Group's Chief Executive Officer, Mr Tim Pearson, told Business Line that this exercise would help them determine the kind of ICT-enabled solutions required by the schools. However, the Group had no immediate plans to enter the market, he added.

He said the real challenge in classrooms these days was to move from blackboards to simulations and interactive learning. In the UK, where the Group offers schools ICT software, services and infrastructure, the "interactive white boards" are revolutionising teaching, he said.

Mr Pearson said that the RM Group focussed on "whole class teaching" software rather than the one-PC-one-student system of learning. This allows the teacher to present her notes in the class, mix slides and recall the previous week's work, while students can interact with the material projected onscreen.

Today, nearly 30 per cent of UK schools have interactive white boards, and there is hardly any teacher-resistance, Mr Pearson said.

He pointed out that apart from teaching, educational software could also be used to administer the school system, record attendance, compile student data and even conduct online examinations. RM group had developed software for evaluating process-based examinations, he said.

The Group, which employs more than 2,000 people, clocked a turnover of £263 million in 2005 with profits of £12.8 million . Besides the UK, it has three offices in India, America and Australia.

The Group opened RMESI at the Technopark here in February 2003 and operations started in June that year. The company now employs nearly 160 people, including software developers, technical writers and support staff.

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page