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Vipin V. Nair

"The possibilities of Indian software companies landing large software outsourcing deals and the booming IT-enabled services (ITES) sector may perk up the computer education business this year."

NEW DELHI, March 6

COMPUTER education and software major, NIIT Ltd, has said it expects more students to enrol for its courses this year as the information technology (IT) industry has started looking up.

The Delhi-based company also hopes that profit margins from its education business would be better this year than the previous year. "The slowdown is behind us... Now let's look at how is life going forward," said Mr P. Rajendran, Chief Operating Officer of NIIT.

In an interview to Business Line here today, Mr Rajendran reiterated that NIIT would clock growth rates `slightly' higher than industry, projected to grow by 9-10 per cent this year.

The computer education business in India was estimated to be worth Rs 1,575 crore last year, down by 35 per cent from about Rs 2,500 crore in the year before that. The sector was severely hit due to the meltdown in the industry, which saw massive job cuts. However, possibilities of Indian software companies landing large software outsourcing deals and the booming IT-enabled services (ITES) sector may perk up the computer education business this year.

"Enrolments must pick up. We have seen decent levels in the last quarter," he said. In the October-November-December quarter, NIIT's learning business grew by 10 per cent year-on-year, achieving revenues of Rs 81.6 crore. Enrolments during this period stood at 1.45 lakh, which is 10 per cent higher on a sequential basis, but down from 1.59 lakh in the same period last year.

Mr Rajendran said NIIT had started to pare discounts on its course fees and this could lead to better margins in the current financial year. (NIIT's financial year starts in October).

"There were discounts in the range of 20 per cent last year in the market. Now it is about five per cent less," he said. "It will have to be done for some more time." Mr Rajendran said NIIT would continue to focus on its long-term GNIIT course and seek tie-up with more universities. The company has arrangements with B R Ambedkar Open University and Karnataka State Open University to offer computer courses to the students of these universities.

NIIT also imparts computer skills to schoolchildren in States such as Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, which accounts for about 20 per cent of the company's business. International business contributes about 10-12 per cent.

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