Opportunity EduFinance

May 26, 2023

Bengaluru, May 26, 2023: Varthana, India’s largest school financing-focused Non-Banking Finance Company (NBFC), and Opportunity EduFinance, an international NGO that supports local affordable private schools, today partnered to launch EduQuality, a program providing low-cost, quality professional development training to affordable private schools in Tamil Nadu. Varthana clients from Chennai, Madurai, and Coimbatore will benefit from this partnership through access to EduQuality, a three-year holistic school development program of Opportunity EduFinance which seeks to improve the quality of education for learners and support the growth of sustainable school businesses. Through Varthana’s investment in their client’s growth and success, they have committed to cost-sharing 10% of the total cost of the program. Opportunity EduFinance will subsidize 80% of the program cost as aligned with their mission of supporting affordable private education across India. The remaining 10% (₹10,000 per year) will be the only cost born to participating schools. The EduQuality program will bring together 120-150 affordable private schools to deliver the following intervention: School Leadership Professional Development: Professional development training delivered to senior school leaders with a focus on instructional leadership and business and financial management to support the growth of sustainable school businesses. Teacher Mentor Professional Development: In-service professional development delivered to teacher mentors with a focus on foundational teacher training, i.e., pedagogy, literacy, and classroom management. Teacher mentors then deliver professional development to their teaching staff at their respective schools. Pathways to Excellence: Strategic school improvement planning which begins with a School Self-Assessment where the school owner diagnoses the quality of education at their school using measurable indicators of school quality and then develops a School Development Plan to improve upon areas of greatest need. A recent KPMG India study commissioned by Opportunity EduFinance found only 44% of schools in Tamil Nadu conduct teacher training. The study highlighted a greater need for training that focuses on classroom management, overcoming learning loss, improving learning outcomes, and lesson planning. This EduQuality program delivered through the Varthana and Opportunity EduFinance partnership will directly address these identified needs, providing critical professional development training access to equip senior school leaders and teachers of affordable private schools with skills and tools necessary to invest in holistic school quality improvements that can be sustained beyond the life of the program. Mr. Steve Hardgrave, CEO and Co-founder, Varthana, said, “We feel ecstatic announcing this partnership with Opportunity EduFinance. With affordable private schools growing in the country, and today’s generation thriving on use of technology we see a huge need for upskilling of School leaders and teachers to deliver more result-oriented teaching experience. Through this tie-up we are striving to provide quality education to all affordable private schools that we are associated with in the state of Tamil Nadu.” Mr. Andrew Mccusker, Head of Education Finance at Opportunity International said, “Varthana is known for building strong relationships with owners of affordable private schools across the country. These relationships help enable schools to develop not just strong infrastructure but also provide academic support via digital learning tools and teaching methods. It is for this reason that we chose to partner with Varthana and develop robust smart schools by empowering teachers with all necessary tools. Our experienced trainers will provide a blended training – digital & in-person – approach delivered in the local language of the respective cities.”