India's education market is unique: J Makinson, Pearson India

Education & learning company Pearson is looking at ways to expand its wings in the Indian market. It has formed a joint venture with Educomp to provide vocational education services and has now acquired TutorVista, a Bangalore-based education company that offers online tutoring, test prep and other services. John Makinson, chairman of Pearson India says that the education sector is very exciting in India and gives the company a lot of opportunities to explore. Excerpts from an interview with ET's Mahima Puri & Sruthijith KK:

How will the latest acquisition of TutorVista help Pearson in the Indian market?

This acquisition can be seen as the company's commitment to education and skills development in India. The investment in TutorVista gives us control of the world's largest online tutoring business and, crucially, a platform on which to build a leading presence in the Indian private schools sector. It has given us the scale and the growth opportunity that we were looking for. It will also bring us close to consumers in India.

What makes you so bullish on the education business in India?


There isn't any other market for education like India in the world, not even China. Education sector is very exciting in India and as the world's largest education company, this gives us a lot of opportunities to explore.


Which are the other emerging markets that Pearson is looking at aggressively?

Brazil and China would be two such markets that are relevant from education perspective.


How does organic expansion stack with acquisitions as a strategy for growth in India?

There are a lot of organic growth opportunities, like increasing digital content development, creating educational products, providing online platforms for colleges, testing and assessment services and vocational training.

What is it that you find lacking in India's education market?

If we look at the formal education in India, there isn't an awful lot lacking. But there is lack of investment in technology in education in India, even in the private universities.

As a business, what is the single largest challenge for you in India?

I think the challenge is to come to grits with the scale and economics of the market. It is about providing quality education at affordable prices to a large number of people. We are willing to serve not only those at the bottom of the pyramid, but also consumers in metros, tier I and tier II cities.

Also, it would be helpful to tear apart the principle of whether education space is an activity legitimate for commercial organisations to make a profit. That is one change that India can probably bring in.