NEW DELHI: Kothari Products Ltd, manufacturers of Pan Parag, will invest Rs. 200 crores in the education sector in the next few years to set up international schools and colleges.

"We are aiming to set up 10 schools and colleges across India in the next few years," Kothari Products Ltd Managing Director Deepak Kothari said at a press conference here.

The group has identified Ahmedabad and Lonavala for the next project after the inauguration of its first Kothari International School at Noida in collaboration with Dubai-based Global Education Management Systems.

Specialised institutions

"The idea is to provide not only general education but also set up specialised professional institutions such as dental colleges. To start with, the focus would be on the western region and later expand to other parts of India," he said, but did not spell out any timeframe for implementation of the plan.

He said the group's entry into the education sector was not for profit and, therefore, not a business diversification strategy. The group continued to focus on its core business of Pan Parag, and diversified into namkeens, bottled water, detergents, hair oil and construction, Mr. Kothari said.

He said the KPL was aiming at 10 per cent growth this calendar year to touch Rs. 330 crores, up from last year's Rs. 300 crores.

About the first school at Noida, which was inaugurated on Sunday, Mr. Kothari said the academic session would commence from April 2006, while the admission process had started this month.

The school will initially have classes from kindergarten to class five and follow the CBSE curriculum as well as the national curriculum of England.

The monthly fee would be Rs. 3,500 a month for KG classes and Rs. 4,000 a month for classes 1 to 5, plus the admission fee of Rs. 15,000.

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