Page 2 - Online Education

Byju's EGM gets underway: Raveendran skips, investors file suit before NCLT

A group of four investors of Byju's has filed an oppression and mismanagement suit against the management of the company before the Bengaluru bench of the NCLT, seeking declaring of founders, including CEO Byju Raveendran, as unfit to run the company, and appointing a new board. Besides, the suit has sought declaring the just concluded rights issue as void. Investors, who are seeking the ouster of Raveendran and family from the Byju's board at an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders for alleged "mismanagement and failures" at what was once India's hottest tech startup, have also sought a forensic audit of the company in the plea filed before the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Thursday evening, according to a court filing. As per the filing, the investors have sought declaring the present management as unfit to run the company and appointing of a new CEO and a new board. The plea also wants a forensic audit and a direction to the management to share information wit

Netflix's monetisation model may just save India's online learning apps

The Physics Wallah app has 2 million users logging in daily and spending 80 minutes

Physics Wallah founder waives off fee worth Rs 17 cr for 51,000 students

Edtech major Physics Wallah on Monday said its Founder Alakh Pandey has waived off fees for 51,000 underprivileged students for the 2023-24 academic year. The fee waiver was given for various courses spanning NEET, JEE, commerce, arts, and standard 9-12 coaching, under the company's Right to Education programme, the company said in a statement. "Physics Wallah's Founder and CEO, Alakh Pandey has given a full fee waiver on some of its paid batches to 51,000 students for the academic session 2023-2024 to support those from economically weaker sections of society," it said. The total cost amounting to the contribution in terms of waiving the fee is over Rs 17 crore, as per the statement. "We aim to encourage them and provide hope that we stand by them, and financial constraints won't hinder their Right to Education," Pandey said.

Edtech firm Byju's says investors have no voting rights on CEO change

Edtech major Think and Learn Pvt Ltd, which operates under the brand name BYJU'S, on Friday said investors have no voting rights on the CEO or management change as per the shareholder's agreement. At least six BYJU's investors have called for an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) to address issues at the edtech major and oust founders from having control over the firm. "Think & Learn Pvt Ltd has noted with sorrow, statements from a select few investors calling for an EGM to replace founder and group CEO Byju Raveendran. Under these unfortunate circumstances, we would emphasise that the shareholder's agreement does not give them the right to vote on CEO or management change," the company said in a statement. The investors led by Dutch investment firm Prosus in the EGM notice requested the resolution of the outstanding governance, financial mismanagement and compliance issues and the reconstitution of the Board of Directors. "The resolutions being put forward for the EGM to ...

Shareholders Prosus, others call for ouster of Byju's founders in new salvo

'We are deeply concerned about the future stability of the company under its current leadership and with the current constitution of the Board,' the shareholders said in a statement

IGNOU January 2024: Re-registration extended to Feb 15; details here

The deadline to re-register for Bachelors and Master online and distance learning courses at the Indira Gandhi National Open University without the late fee was January 29, 2024

Oxford terminates deal with TCS after technical glitch in admission test

The Oxford University has terminated its deal with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) after students experienced technical glitches while taking online admission test for the institution. "Following the technical problems experienced by some candidates during the delivery of this year's online admissions tests by a new provider, TCS will not be involved in the delivery of Oxford admissions tests going forward," a spokesperson for the university said. Thousands of students from across the world appear for test to get admitted to Oxford every year. The university offers undergraduate and postgraduate programmes through 30 colleges across the UK. Prominent Indians who studied at Oxford include former prime ministers Indira Gandhi and Manmohan Singh. In April 2023, the UK-based institution selected TCS iON, the learning and assessments-focused unit of TCS, for conducting the admission tests, replacing Cambridge Admissions Assessment Testing. The university attributed complaints by candida

Focus on reducing losses, bring in efficiency: Byju's India CFO Golani

The company has taken various measures to improve the company's operating financial conditions including scaling down the underperforming businesses significantly

FY22 report card: Edtech company Byju's losses widen to Rs 8,245.2 cr

Subsidiaries WhiteHat Jr, Osmo contributed to 45% of losses

Eruditus revenue jumps 75% in FY23; losses narrow to Rs 1,049 crore

Founded by Ashwin Damera and Chaitanya Kalipatnapu in 2010, Eruditus served 250,000 students across 80 countries in FY23

Budget 2024: Highlights of education budget under Modi govt since 2014

The National Education Policy, introduced in 2020, states that 6% of the country's GDP should go towards education. Here is a look on how the country has fared in over a decade of education

US-based Code.org sues Byju's-owned WhiteHat Jr over payment dues

In May 2021, Code.org announced the signing of a licensing agreement with WhiteHat Jr, which at that time was providing tutoring services to over 175,000 students worldwide

Byju's in talks with investors to raise $300 mn in return for more controls

Shareholders call for board rejig so that they can have a bigger say in ops

Think and Learn presents edtech Byju's 3.0 proposal to investors at AGM

Byju's says FY22 earnings were approved at the AGM as well as the reappointment of BDO as the statutory auditors of the company.

India's data science education market to reach $1.39 bn by 2028: Report

Data scientists, data analysts, business analysts, and big data engineers are the most in-demand jobs according to Imarticus Learning's Data Science Education Report 2023

Edtech firm BYJU'S appoints Jiny Thattil as Chief Technology Officer

Edtech firm BYJU'S on Monday said it has appointed senior vice president for engineering Jiny Thattil as its Chief Technology Officer. Thattil takes over from Anil Goel, who is leaving the company after three years as Chief Technology Officer (CTO). "We are delighted to promote Jiny Thattil as the CTO of BYJU'S. His extensive experience and leadership skills make him the ideal candidate for this crucial role as we continue to rebuild for greater efficiency and sustainability. We would also like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to Anil Goel for his exemplary work," BYJU'S India CEO Arjun Mohan said. This transition is part of BYJU'S ongoing strategic restructuring and reorientation of its leadership team to enhance operational efficiency, the statement said. With over 25 years of experience, Thattil has an understanding of diverse domains, including e-commerce, advertising, analytics, payments, online banking, personal finance, business intelligence, healthcare, and ...

UGC proposal allows postgraduate students flexibility in selecting courses

Higher education regulator proposes that students have the option to pursue two courses simultaneously and get credits for work experience

PhysicsWallah cautiously monitoring market for opportunities: CBO Rashid

Edtech firm PhysicsWallah has said it is cautiously monitoring the market for any opportunities that align with its vision, as it aims to be a sustainable company, not merely an initiative-driven one. The Noida-headquartered edtech company also said it has enough cash in the bank before the next round of fundraising. "We are cautiously monitoring the market for any opportunities that align with our vision, since it is important to be a sustainable company, not merely being an initiative-driven one," PhysicsWallah Chief Business Officer (CBO) Imran Rashid told PTI. The company raised USD 100 million in series A funding from Westbridge and GSV Ventures at a valuation of USD 1.1 billion in 2022. PhysicsWallah, Rashid said, is in an early stage in terms of funding amid a stretched funding winter in the startup space. The edtech firm has recently forayed into offline teaching and established tie-ups with schools. "Schools are an integral part of...education system (in India) because t

Edtech company Byju's plans asset sale to pay off $1.2 billion loan

The lenders are evaluating Byju's proposed amendment and have reportedly asked for more information about the loan repayment proposal

Byju says firm's $22 billion valuation intact, accepts past mistakes

Raveendran told the shareholders that discussions were on for several weeks regarding the reconstitution of the board to strengthen processes