NIIT acquires eGurucool

To enhance its presence in the IT assisted education space, 20-year old

IT Education pioneer, NIIT, has taken over the content, technology and

brand of e-Gurucool, a key provider of e-Learning in the schools segment.

Sharing the details of the acquisition, Mr. Rajendra S. Pawar,

Chairman, NIIT said, ''This move is another step forward in our strategy of expanding operations in the vast domain of IT-assisted education.''With this acquisition NIIT has moved rapidly ahead to emerge as a formidable leader in the non-formal education space. NIIT expects to earn Rs 100 crore from this activity by the third year.

Commenting on the impact eGurucool will have on NIIT, Mr Pawar said,

''NIIT''s vast network of centres and pervasive online presence through

NetVarsity will be used to offer new educational offerings to newer

segment of students.''

This acquisition presents NIIT with an opportunity to deploy this

enhanced product range through its network of education centres while offering online services from its e-Learning ortal--www.NetVarsity.com. NIIT''s presence in 2445 locations and online services is its key

differentiator in the Brick and Portal domain.

In addition to complementing NIIT''s investments in technology,

infrastructure and services capability and positioning it as a strong

player in the non-IT subjects for students, the key advantages that the

IT innovator gets from this deal include:

· Enhanced reach in the community of school learners

· Over 1500 hours of digital content

· Committed content and services team of knowledge professionals

· Technology and Process capability for content development and

services

· Network of authors, Subject Matter Experts and Content Developers

''NIIT platform will help unleash the full potential of eGurucool''s

strengths--vast digital content, appropriate technology and teaching

methodology-as also help NIIT leverage customer loyalty among

students,''

said Vivek Agarwal, co-founder of eGurucool.

The acquisition strengthens NIIT''s strategy of providing young

learners with a suite of education offerings including and beyond IT right from the school level.

In keeping with NIIT''s strategy of inorganic growth and to leverage

its global reach and capacity to provide customers with better, faster and more competitive solutions, NIIT in 2002 made four significant

acquisitions--three in the USA and one in Germany. NIIT acquired Osprey

Systems, Custom Development Business of Click2learn and Data Executive

International of the US and AD Solutions of Germany.

About NIIT Training

NIIT pioneered IT training in India in 1981 and has evolved from a

predominantly education company to an IT Solutions Corporation with

balanced Software and Education revenues and a presence in 41

countries.

NIIT pioneered IT training in India in 1981 and its distinct training

programs include ''Planetworkz''--an IT Enabled Services (ITES)

industry-endorsed initiative to address the manpower needs of the

growing ITES industry in India; Futurz--A series of programs of varying

duration including GNIIT and CareerEdge; CATS--Curriculum for Advanced

Technologies Studies--offer training on advanced technology; SWIFT--Short Work Programs in Information Technology--caters to the IT and Internet literacy needs of people.

NIIT has 2445 education centres in 31 countries. NIIT is the first and the only Asian Education and Training Organization to feature among the IDC top 15 global IT training market leaders. The company has been conferred the ''Best Training Company Award'' by Microsoft 2001.''

Notes to the Editor

e-Gurucool content to expand NIIT''s portfolio in non-IT areas

Established in 1999, eGurucool has managed to capture the imagination

of young minds and enjoys a unique brand positioning and recall in the

student segment.

In addition to building extensive technology, eGurucool had established

itself as the premier technology enabled Education Services Company. In

an IMRB research, conducted in Delhi, Mumbai and Lucknow, two-thirds of

students ranked eGurucool as the most preferred brand with expressed

willingness to pay for online education services. A brand development

effort of this magnitude could take an investment of over Rs.10 crores

today.

The content and curricula acquired by NIIT in non-IT areas is based on

extensively researched blueprint and competitive analysis.

Distinguished academic teams and subject matter experts were involved in creation of content by eGurucool that is superior to what is available elsewhere.

The eGurucool acquisition covers over 1500 hours of digital content. At

current market rates, comparable content development means vast

investments and a development time of over 2 years.

Both NIIT and eGurucool have won industry recognitions for their

offerings in the on-line education market. At the Digit Web Awards 2001, NIIT bagged the Judge''s Choice award for the best e-Learning and Education Portal in India. eGurucool won the Popular Choice award. The coming together of the strengths of these two entities will establish NIIT as the absolute winner in this sphere.

Studies suggest that the best e-Learning experience for learners is a

synergistic blend of Content, Technology and Services. NIIT has

demonstrated strengths in all these areas. In addition, NIIT''s nation

wide presence coupled with its 6-year old learning portal,

NetVarsity.Com, offers learners with an integrated delivery mechanism offering superior results.

Currently, NIIT addresses the school students segment through

NIIT@School,delivering computer Training to over 7,50,000 students in 2000 government schools in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal. In these states, NIIT enjoys nearly 60 pc market share of the government schools education business. In addition, NIIT offers computer training in nearly 400 private public schools.

Growing NIIT training market share further

In a market that has built up excess capacity, NIIT''s acquisition of a

well-known brand, unduplicated content and cutting edge technology is a

smart move as it helps NIIT build a stronger connect with Indian youth

right from the school stage.

Speaking on the occasion Mr P Rajendran, Chief Operating Officer NIIT

said, ''We are ''Expanding our Horizons'' by introducing new products

and new programs for existing as well as new segments like these. We expect these initiatives to further grow our market share in a consolidating market.''

NIIT''s Global system wide Learning Business revenues touched Rs 81.6

crores recording a 10% YoY growth in Q1 ending December 31, 2002. The

enrolments in this quarter grew 10 pc QoQ to touch 145,065. NIIT''s

relative market share among top 3 players has gone up from 41% to 47%

on a YoY basis.

NIIT''s recent launches have made available the ITES-industry endorsed

programs-- Planetworkz -- and multimedia training - Maximedia-at over

20 locations in India. For ITES training offerings, NIIT has built relationships with leading ITES industry employers and technology creators to service the manpower needs of the sector.

These endeavours mark NIIT''s expansion into the large IT-Assisted

Education arena. Some of the recent brand building efforts by NIIT in the schools segment include the launch of ''The NIIT MindChampions'' Academy'' along with its brand ambassador, Grand Master Viswanathan Anand, to promote Chess among school students to help them pursue the path of excellence in their studies.

NIIT entered into an academic partnership with Karnataka State Open

University to allow GNIIT pass-outs from NIIT to gain lateral entry

directly into the 2nd year of the University''s M Sc (IT) program. This

is

a path breaking relationship because even ordinary graduates from

humanities stream, with a GNIIT title can aspire for an M Sc (IT)

degree.

Contact for media:

Sanjiv Kataria, NIIT Ltd., Ph: +91 11 26203344, Fax: 26203386, Email:

sanjivk@niit.com

Geetanjali Sharma, NIIT Ltd., Ph: +91 11 26203377, Fax: 26203386,

Email:geetanjalis@niit.com