Wigan India to set foot in Africa

Wigan and Leigh College (WLC) India has decided to set foot in Africa with courses in business, education, information technology, design and media.

The new venture will be started as WLC Africa with an initial investment of about $25 million through private equity. WLC India Chairman Vinay Pasricha said the academic session was expected to commence by July 2008.

The company is in the process of identifying the locations and plans to be present in 30-40 centres in the continent in the first three years.

"Africa is almost a virgin market for professional educational courses. Indian educational institutes have focused more on Dubai and South-East Asia for expansion. Africa is a huge, cost-effective market compared to other parts of the world," said Pasricha.

He added that by March, WLC India will have its presence in Dhaka, Columbo, Bangkong and, depending on the political conditions, even Karachi. Last year, WLC College India started its operations in Kathmandu.

For the expansion in Africa, a core faculty of about 10 members would be sent from India to train the local faculty. Pasricha said the fee structure in different countries is designed to suit the local aspirants. "Our courses are customised to match the availability of suitable jobs in the area," he said.

WLC India, started in partnership with the UK based Wigan and Leigh College, has presence in 18 cities with 22 campuses and 38 admission offices. The company would upgrade most of its offices into teaching centres by next year. One centre needs an investment of about Rs 1crore, Pasricha said. He expects WLC India to be present at 60 locations in India in the next three years.

WLC India has hired 40 professionals from various disciplines as advisors to update the courses from time to time. An in-house team of 35 people has been recrutited to refurbish and redesign the course contents.

About 10,000 students have passed out from WLC India in the past eleven years and 3,000 students are pursuing full-time and part-time profesional and creative courses at different centres of the college.