Comments
At a time when a majority of pre-schools and daycare centres are shutting shop amid the pandemic, KLAY Pre-schools and Daycare is expecting a four-fold growth in number of enrolments this year, backed by the launch of its hybrid programmes and services aimed at both offline and online segments.
According to AK Srikanth, CEO, KLAY, online delivery of content and programmes has helped the company tap the hitherto untapped Tier II and Tier III markets. The company, which had close to 4,500 enrolments last year across programmes, is expecting around 16,000 registrations this academic year.
“Nearly 55 per cent of the pre-schools have closed shop permanently (due to this pandemic) and this is likely to increase to 70-80 per cent this year. But, of the 150 schools that we had before pandemic, we only closed down 10 out of which close to six had not even commenced operations. So while other schools found it difficult to operate due to smaller manpower we could mobilise our teachers and caregivers and run a successful programme,” Srikanth told BusinessLine .
New launches
The company, which launched its online programme immediately after the pandemic and the resultant lockdown in March 2020, is currently looking to launch KLAY@Home app which would be a platform for all its digital content. This apart, it launched an in-person learning and caregiving service - KARE@Home in July last year, wherein trained teachers and caregivers delivered services at the homes of families.
“The program has seen considerable success given the circumstances and we see potential for this product line in various avatars as we go ahead. Pre-school accounted for 10 per cent of the number of students at KLAY while integrated (daycare and preschool) accounted for the remaining 90 per cent,” he said.
Inititatives
Given that there is a strong possibility that physical schools may continue to remain shut for this age group for a good part of this year, if not the entire academic year, the company is looking to launch several other initiatives to tap the needs of the segment over the next few months.
The company recently launched Klaytopia, which is essentially a theme-based hands-on learning box, complete with virtual lessons and expert support. It plans to take Klaytopia to around 1,00,000 households by 2023.
“We are expecting enrolments to increase by 4x this year and the reason for this is simple - last year, the pandemic was seen possibly as a temporary phenomenon that would fade out and things would reopen again. The second wave has brought a reality check. We are certainly expecting a spike in numbers for our online programmes, at least 50 per cent and upwards, signs of which are already on our radar looking at the sheer numbers of enquiries we are receiving before the start of the academic year,” he said.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.