Asvata Foundation

Education service providers for new century

Vision

To establish two inter-connected educational brands, one standing for state-of-the art educational infrastructure and methodology, and the other ensuring professional, accessible, high quality education in a standard format

•We will manage, operate and brand schools for investors and promoters in the education sector•Idea is to own operations and not capital assets•Cross-subsidize low-cost line of schools against the high-end globally competitive line of schools

WHY?

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Private education sector similar to high end hotel business

Brand name draws good students and the presence of good students bolsters the brand name

Core value-add is in day to day operations which are complex and quality sensitive

Ordinary franchising can dilute this service very easily

Education is a fast-changing dynamic industry

• Investors exist to supply capital assets• Operations require expertise and professionalism• Cross-subsidizing & scale can be used to benefit poorer students

What is Private Education Sector like?

Our Model

• Deeksha Schools for lower income groups with fees around ` 800 per month and 400 students– We charge owners only operating expenses and a small initial fee to

recover initial expenses

• Vision India Schools as a high end brand with fees around ` 7000 per month and 1600 students– We charge owners a premium, a monthly fee as well as a revenue share

• Teachers of all schools we run are our employees, not of the individual schools

• Teachers are given a career path in our organization

• Teacher training and management expertise achieved through scale

HOW?

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We will hire retired principals and management of top schools like DPS, Mallya Aditi, Sanskriti & Saint Joseph’s to set

• Policies, incentive structures and evaluation systems • Methodology and teacher training

Since teachers will be our employees they will

• Have rotation postings where they transfer their experience and learning• Conduct and attend education and management training seminars • Have professional evaluation systems, feedback and career path

Expertise will be brought in for setting up a new school

Economies of Scale & Quality

Deeksha and Vision India schools will provide different quality education

However, the same management expertise, teacher training and evaluation, and research into teaching methodology will be used

Schools will be continuously tested for improvement in learning quality

Personal guarantee of additional resources to Deeksha schools for no charge if learning improvements are not seen

Students in Deeksha schools will be covered by scholarship plans

Cross-Subsidy & Empowerment

Cross-Subsidy Details - 1

• Each Vision India school will be in the price range of Delhi Public School or Sanskriti– Around 1600 students with fees of `7000 per month

• We will charge a mark-up of 25% over costs and 4% revenue share for managing, operating and branding the school

• This money will be used for organizational expenses and subsidizing Deeksha schools

• Each Deeksha school will have 30% of its operational costs subsidized– This will let us pay teachers more, train them better, provide meals– Pay for better management, improve teacher-student ratio to 1:25– Run scholarship programs where the best Deeksha students have option to

go to top residential schools

• Each Vision India school will be able to support 4 Deeksha schools• The graph shows how the recurring payments to Deeksha schools

are offset by the payments from the Vision India schools

Cross-Subsidy Details - 2

Teacher Training

• Teachers for Deeksha are hired in cities the schools operate in• Teachers will have career grades – 1 to 4, one being the lowest and 4

the highest• One or two teachers of grade 2 in every Deeksha school

– Each responsible to train 10 teachers. They will spend a class with every teacher at least twice in a week

• One or two teachers of grade 3 per three Deeksha schools– Each responsible to oversee training of 30 teachers. They will spend a class

with every teacher at least twice in three weeks

• Education advisors hired at principal and senior management grade for every 50 Deeksha schools – Advisors will monitor, evaluate and provide consultation to schools in their

jurisdiction. Their pay structure will not be performance based to maintain objectivity

DEEKSHA

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Primary focus on revamping existing schools for low income groups

• This revamp will bring the infrastructure experience of the new school in line with the Deeksha brand

Initial revamping of infrastructure taken care of by Bodhi Foundation. owner pays back over the first year

We charge only a nominal fee over promoter’s current operational costs, approx `5,000 to `10,000 more; Increased cost met through subsidy

Deeksha Schools

• Our brand name will stand for a certain fee to which the new school will be brought in a phased manner

• We will run an internal hiring program whereby:– We will consider the current teachers of the new school for positions in our

organization• 50% of the retained teachers will have to be rated acceptable with

medium level of re-training• Remaining 50% of the retained teachers will have to be rated

acceptable with high level of re-training• Teachers who are rated worse than that will be let go

– Employee pay will be standardized to Deeksha school levels

• Organizational performance evaluation & incentives introduced

Deeksha Schools: Operations - 1

Deeksha Schools: Operations - 2

Phase 1

• Capital expenditure of around `2 lakh will be sanctioned for procuring• Chairs, tables, blackboards and basic school equipment• Setting up infrastructure for providing meals• Upgrading toilets and play space

• Principal and coordinators will be brought in • Current principal may stay on in a management role depending on caliber • Internal re-hiring started

Phase 2

• Grade 2 and above teachers brought in from other Deeksha schools • Teachers from Vision India may be brought in for special training

• Special classes held to bring students up to the standard appropriate to their year • Done over the first academic year of the revamping

• Subsidy of 30% of costs provided by us to meet these additional expenses including the higher pay of teachers

Phase 3

• The school provides the quality Deeksha stands for • Continuous evaluation of learning using standardized tests • Teachers evaluated and paid using organizational metrics • Teachers expertise can be channeled to newer schools

VISION INDIA

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Starting new schools is the primary focus

• We will create detailed specifications for infrastructure and a template document for costing • Price charged to the owner will be

• A down-payment as a premium to be associated with our brand• Monthly charge based on costing document with a premium of 25% for our services • A charge of 4% of revenues made per annum

Value proposition for the investor

• To build the brand and expertise to run a high end school takes a minimum of 6-8 years• Starting a Vision India school will reduce this time to a single year

Vision India Schools

• Branding and promotional activities in newspapers & radio

• We will run a hiring program whereby:– Rigorous teacher training series will be conducted– Employee pay will be standardized to Vision India school levels

• Organizational performance evaluation & incentives will be introduced

• Top management from our organization will be personally assigned to build up the new school– Principal, Vice-principal & some coordinators may be brought in– Vision India teaching methods will be phased in within a year– Subject specialists will be brought in for knowledge sharing

Vision India Schools - Operations

Organization

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Organization Structure

• Our top management will be management experts and experienced people from the best schools in India

• Care will be taken to give teachers a satisfying career path– Salaries will be staggered and will increase with promotions– Teachers may be rotated to different schools in postings

• Vision India teachers will have to do few stints with Deeksha schools for knowledge sharing

• Deeksha teachers may be shifted to Vision India schools or other Deeksha schools as appropriate

Teachers can distinguish themselves as administrators or senior educators

• Administers get more administrative roles as they rise and are groomed to become coordinators, VPs & Principals• Senior educators get higher classes as they rise; work load is shifted towards methodology research & teacher training

Performance evaluation based on self-goals & assessment, superior’s assessment, student & peer feedback

Remuneration for senior teaches in Vision India competitive with management jobs (Rs 50,000 approx)

Remuneration for senior teaches in Deeksha competitive with engineering jobs (Rs 30,000 approx)

Career Path for Teachers

Career Path for Teachers - Details

Social Impact

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Provide high quality, accessible and affordable education to children from low income families, empowering them to have new possibilities in life• Learning from experiments like student feedback, hole in the wall, experiential

learning and green schooling being conducted in Africa, UK & Bali• New research & alternative schools of thought like Waldorf Education

Provide state of the art, holistic education to children from well-off families in order to instill academic excellence, extracurricular skills, life skills and creativity

• We hope our success will attract more competitors in this field and start a movement changing the face of Indian education

Bring the best in education from across the world

Ultimately, we aim to improve the literacy level and teaching quality in India, while reducing drop out rates

Social Value Proposition

Number of students enrolled in Deeksha & Vision India

• The ratio between number of Deeksha and Vision India schools should be maintained close to 4:1

• Student teacher ratio• Financial return on investment• School rankings by external agencies• Prizes and awards won by students in inter-school events• Brand awareness surveys for Vision & Deeksha

Minimize student drop out rates in Deeksha

Percentage increase in student scores on standard assessment tests

Additional indicators that can be used are:

Social Indicators

Social Return on Investment – 5 years

• Number of students in Deeksha schools – 22800

• Number of students in Vision India Schools – 25600

• Number of Deeksha Schools – 57

• Number of Vision India Schools – 16

• Average student drop out rates – 15%

• Average increase in student assessment scores – 20%

• Teacher student ratio in Deeksha schools – 1:25

• Teacher student ratio in Vision India schools – 1:10

• Percentage brand awareness in target cities – 60%

Deeksha schools• Increase in teacher student ratio to 1:25 from the national average of 1:42• Provision of a meal a day for the students, free of charge• A catch-up program to reinforce fundamentals while school is being

converted to a Deeksha school• Fees kept at a minimal level given the increased quality

• Maintain the teacher student ratio at a healthy 1:10• Cutting edge equipment to aid learning• Increased capacity of quality education to cater to growing demand

Vision India schools

Value to students

Financials

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INVESTOR

SCHOOL OWNER

SCHOOL OPERATIONS

ADMINISTRATION

SECURITY

MEALS

ADVISORS

ASSISTING STAFF

MISCELLANEOUS

TRAINING & SALARIES

MONTHLY FEE

SETUP COSTS

REVENUE SHARE

INVESTED CAPITAL

Flow of Resources

Financials

Deeksha Schools: Recieve an upfront of `3.5 lakhs and guarantee a return of 20% p.a. (i.e. an return of ` 70,000 per year).

Vision India Schools: Receive an upfront of `40 lakhs, a monthly rate which is at a markup of 25% on monthly operating costs as well as an entitlement to 4% of the revenue

Profit after tax: Reaches ` 1.8 crore in year 5

Required capital: ` 75 lakhs for 20% of the company

RoI of upwards of 25% from year 2

Scale-up plans

Grow our portfolio of Vision India schools and Deeksha schools in the ratio 1:4

In year 5, we will have a total of around 57 Deeksha schools and 16 Vision India schools

Future Plans

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We are planning a pilot project to simulate the effect of scale and cross-subsidy on educational operations

We have secured the buy-in of two senior teachers, and are in talks with a retired principal to help us

We have identified a NGO run school for disadvantaged children

The idea is to impart teacher training, share teaching methods, incorporate student feedback & have special classes taken by our teachers for important concepts

We will use standardized tests to track quality of learning of students over a six month period

This will help us see whether this training will allow Deeksha schools to impart higher quality education

Pilot Project

The Future

• The success of Vision India and Deeksha will allow us to set the standard for quality scalable education– We wish to redefine the idea of what an efficient, modern education

provider should be, and separate capital ownership from providing educational services

• The highest challenge would be to take lessons we learn and our established brand & convince the government to let us run some of their schools

We believe that our core ideas have the potential to re-invent the way education is approached in India & the world