Modern Montessori to expand pre-schools in India

A Singapore-based education group is planning to expand its reach in India by doubling pre- school teacher training and franchises for running kindergarten classes through major corporations, keeping in view the huge demand for trained educationists in the country.
"We feel there is this huge demand in India for trained pre-school teachers and demand for kindergartens in cities," said T Chandroo, chairman and chief executive officer of Modern Montessori International (MMI), an education brand from the UK.
MMI presently runs 10 pre-school teacher training centres and five kindergartens in India, having first forayed into the Indian market in early 2003.

"We are going to serve the concept to more corporations," Chandroo told PTI.
He stressed the need to train pre-school teachers based on an estimated demand for 100,000 such educationists over the next 10 years.
MMI offers diploma course to pre-school teachers, which qualify them to work in any kindergarten or start their own pre-school as an MMI franchise.

MMI's overall plan is to train 1,500-2,000 pre-school teachers a year, double from the present 750 intake.
"We are looking at opening up another 20-30 centres in the next three to five years," Chandroo said, listing out Bangalore, Chennai and Mumbai as the starting off points for both teacher training centres and pre-schools.

"We will also need more teachers as we open more and more pre-schools," he said.
He said these educational programmes at primary and secondary levels would eventually expand MMI brands with full scale schooling in India and other Asian countries.
"But there are huge opportunities in India's education sector," he said.
MMI India operates through a 2003 joint venture with RKJ Group of Indian billionaire Ravi Jaipuria.
MMI also operates in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt, Nepal and Hong Kong.