DNA Mumbai Anniversary: EuroKids – 17 years of providing a composite learning experience

EuroKids started their early childhood education journey in 2001 with two pre-schools in Mumbai. The idea of building a trusted brand in India, that recognizes the care, nurturing and warmth needed behind shaping young minds, was the principal thought behind starting EuroKids Pre-schools. They recognized that a pre-school is the child’s first experience away from home, and this transition of the child between home and school had to be made smooth. Hence, their pre-schools provide a holistic nurturing environment with emphasis on child development, safety and security, hygiene and establishing a close connection with the parents of each child so that EuroKids Pre-schools become the ‘Child’s Second Home’. They’ve always adopted a ‘Child First’ policy and hence everything that they think, plan and do is with this guiding principle at all times. 

They extended the ‘Child First’ philosophy when they entered the K-12 segment and wanted to provide meaningful, relevant education to children so that they can be successful in the 21st century. The deep realization that the skills that are required in this century have to focus on 21st century skills and also that they must be imparted from a young age evolved their philosophy of ‘Balanced Schooling’ for their K-12 schools which are called EuroSchools.

Expertise

In the present-day scenario, they are a 17-year old brand with expertise in early childhood education, but their identity, and its experience have evolved continuously to provide both the children and the parents a superlative pre-school experience. In this journey they were fortunate to find equally passionate individuals who partnered along with them as EuroKids franchise partners. They currently work with more than 1000 partners from across India who are aligned to their mission of providing a nurturing environment for children, thereby aiding the cause of learning.  

Evolution

It will be correct to say that in this 17-year journey they’ve evolved as a brand and company and have kept track with the changing needs of the child and society. But one thing that has remained a constant is their ‘Child First’ ideology. In a digital age, their curriculum strikes the appropriate balance between digital learning and conventional pre-school learning mediums like story-telling, rhymes, book-reading, group learning and more, thus delivering a composite experience. 

Brand

In 2016 and 2017 they decided to refresh their brand and company logos to retain its appeal and to keep it relevant with current times. With this welcome change they inched forward with the vision to be a globally admired education company providing contemporary learning experiences delivered by the best in class talent.

Partnership

Last year they also partnered along with another education company to expand their reach to new markets in India and overseas. This partnership came with a portfolio of 70 Pre-Schools and 20 K-12 schools. Together, they aim to produce a greater and more fulfilling outcome for all of their stakeholders, consumers and people. 

Presence

Today, their presence extends across five countries, 350+ towns and cities, 1000+ pre-schools, 30 K-12 schools and having contributed to the growth and development of over 5,00,000 children they now look forward to becoming the pioneers of ‘Reinventing Education’ in the country. 

Having said that, they still feel that they have so much more to do, to serve the 165 million children in India who deserve better quality education focused on the requirements of tomorrow. Hence all their partners and team members have a deep sense of purpose and have joined them in their mission of nation building.

Myth buster

There is a popular notion that the children go to an early childhood center just to play and socialize and the curriculum needs are at best very basic and static. EuroKids had to work hard to overcome these notions to emphasize that the first five years of a child’s life are the most important, wherein maximum learning takes place and the environment to which the child is exposed to makes the biggest difference. Over the years they’ve also kept pace with the changing needs of the child and their curriculum has seen six upgrades and in 2019 they will launch their seventh upgrade as well.

Focused

They are both a consumer and an education company, and there are many brands not necessarily from their category alone that they admire and want to learn from, both nationally and globally. 

This ideology ensures that the brand strives constantly to innovate, so that it sets itself apart from the others in the segment. This difference or edge that a brand delivers, will be visible to its end beneficiaries - the parents; who will acknowledge the proposition delivered and support the same. 

Safety

In addition to exploration and fun based learning, their pre-schools are equipped with CCTV cameras, so the child remains supervised at all times whilst at pre-school. They have child-friendly furniture, and toys used in the school that are of international standards and are 100% non-toxic in nature. 

As part of their continuous improvement in Health and Safety standards, they partnered with a leading international certification agency to co-create safety protocols specifically for Pre-Schools and then ensured that the same was applied at their centres with third party audit and certification. This kind of initiative is a first by any Pre-School in the country. Furthermore, all their teachers and staff are trained in safety drills required in any event of an extreme scenario.

Connect

Lastly, they ensure that they always create a close-knit bond with the parents of their young students. They reach out to parents through various activations like parent orientation programs, parent-teacher meetings on a regular basis so that they are always assured that their child remains in the best of hands. Additionally, to keep the parents in the know of all the developments at the pre-school, they have the ‘Buddy App’ which showcases all the fun activities, learnings, and fun times at pre-school so the parents are aware of all the activities at the preschool. This 360-degree pre-schooling expertise makes them the preferred pre-schooling choice for many parents. 

Vision

Last year they on boarded 250 EuroKids centers and this year the plan is to add another 300 centers in FY 19. In addition to this they are now planning two K-12 schools at Pune and Bangalore. This will take the EuroSchool network to 12. They have also entered the day care segment and have set up their near site day care centers at Kalina, Mumbai and Trivandrum. They are planning to set-up many more daycare centres in Bangalore and Pune this year.

Perspective

We need greater emphasis and status for early childhood education in our country which is severely lacking. We need to build high quality teacher training institutions which will provide trained personnel for this segment. We also need an enabling regulatory environment which will encourage many purpose driven talented entrepreneurs to enter both, the early childhood and K-12 segment in India, thereby contributing meaningfully to Nation Building.

AWARDS AND ACHIEVEMENTS

EuroKids has been awarded with:

• Best Education Brands of 2018’ - ET Best Brands Award
   
• Innovation in Preschool Pedagogy 2017 - World Education Summit
   
• Pre-School Franchisor of the Year 2017 – Business World Top Education Brands

A proven leader and education entrepreneur

PRAJODH RAJAN, Co-Founder & Group CEO, EuroKids International

An education entrepreneur on a mission, Prajodh is widely credited for his pioneering efforts in reinventing early childhood education in India. He is a proven leader, with expertise in developing solutions for better learning and a passion for building a fertile business ecosystem for first generation Edupreneurs in the country. Responsible for steering the strategic growth of EuroKids International, he has driven the company from two pre-schools in 2001 to 1000+ pre-schools across 350 plus cities in India, Nepal and Bangladesh along with a distinguished network of 10 K-12 Schools in six cities. 

A firm believer in “leadership by example”, Prajodh powers a team that is passionate about understanding the needs of young children and refine the delivery of curriculum for instilling 21st century skills in young children. Inspired by Prajodh’s passion, academic experts are at the forefront, driving innovations and strategic initiatives and are responsible for recalibrating the benchmark of education in the country. His vision of creating a world-class environment for his 1000+ team has made EuroKids one of the ‘50 Great Places to Work’ in India. His efforts towards creating an entrepreneurial opportunity have helped women across metros and small cities to become self-reliant through the EuroKids entrepreneurship initiatives. He has also driven several CSR-based initiatives in the literacy space.

A management graduate from the University of Madras, he is the founding and active member of many industry associations like ECA – Early Childhood Association and Rotary Club. As an active Rotarian, he is associated with Rotary India Literacy Mission and is an active contributor towards the Happy School Project. For his contribution to the education sector, Prajodh has featured in multiple Business Magazines and was honoured with the Education Leadership Award 2016. He was also awarded Entrepreneur of the Year 2017 by Entrepreneur India and named among the ‘50 Leaders changing Indian education’. He also featured amongst “50 visionaries – leading icons in Education” under top education influencers in the country.