The PIE: Tell me about your classroom operation..

NC: The company teaches the US Test Prep products including the GRE, GMAT, SAT, TOEFL, USMLE STEP 1 &2, and more as sole service providers for Kaplan Test Prep Inc., a Washington Post company. In addition we also teach other English competency products such as IELTS and Pearson PTE. The organisation’s floor traffic of students, throughout its office network nationally, enquiring and seeking advice for various countries is in excess of 160,000. Many of these are seeking advice for studying in India too.

We place between 10 to 12,000 students globally in over 13 countries.

The PIE: How have you see the agency industry in India professionalise – and how do you believe it will change in the future?

“The organisation’s floor traffic of students is in excess of 160,000”

NC: There are three or four organisations that have size, scale and professional approach. Most of the smaller players have to look at their businesses differently to survive. There has to be a constant evaluation and consciousness of value addition (apart from the degree) that the students are looking for.

To survive in the legitimate student counselling market, which is becoming increasingly sophisticated, is going to require a high degree of professionalising and has to be knowledge- and IT-driven with a strong touch of caring that the students cannot attain from portals or by applying directly.

Those that caters for students in what we call the “grey market” who look to gain entry into Western countries with the intent of working full time illegally or otherwise misusing and abusing the system, is another story and the same rules do not apply.

“There has to be a constant evaluation of value addition that the students are looking for”

The PIE: What has been the secret of your success, do you think?

NC: We could never have imagined that our combined experience of having studied, lived and worked in so many countries would package itself into a successful business. This experience is unmatched in the industry as both of us are able to advise based on facts. The secret to success is always to enjoy what one does. For us, our genuine passion to be able to assist young people to progress their career path and become successful global individuals is very rewarding. Counselling is an art and requires counselors who are always updated with knowledge.

The human resource is a very important element of student recruitment and our investment and focus in training and retention of our team that is loyal and has been with us for long periods are part of our success story.

The PIE: Any future plans for your company that you would like to share?

NC: We see a huge potential in student recruitment, as more and more countries are moving across borders in their drive for international students. TNE is also expected to be a huge growth area. Hence a move to set up offices in other countries to capture this interest is imminent.

The PIE: How is Indian student demand changing?

NC: UK universities have witnessed a significant drop in their Indian numbers progressively since 2011. Apart from the recessionary economic climate, the changes in UKBA to curb visa abuse candidates, has translated to impacting negatively on a larger proportion of the number of genuine students, who are now finding the UK to be unwelcoming.

“The reality is that universities too now have to assess their own SWOT analysis to enable them to compete more effectively”

At the same time the drop in recruitment has been picked up by other countries,  particularly Australia and Canada. Both because of the opportunity of PSW and attractive work opportunities. There are other emerging destinations such as France, Germany, Spain, Denmark and Sweden, who are all vying for the Indian student and are attractive destinations given that their fees are far more economical.

The reality is that universities too now have to assess their own SWOT analysis to enable them to compete more effectively in the business of Education Export.