How i2Global Preschool Plans to Disrupt the Early Childhood Education Market Chennai-based Krishna Kumar, Founder at i2Global preschool, is aiming to disrupt the early childhood education market through emotional and intellectual development of children

How Have You Positioned i2 Global?

With 65 per cent of India's population below 35 years of age, it is a potential market for early education. Overall, the market size has grown to $1 billion. We have positioned ourselves as the trendsetters in the early childhood education by focusing on holistic development of children through equal emphasis on emotional and intellectual development.

How Do You Evaluate a Child's Development?

Each child is unique and the development depends on the individual mindset and the environment. Based on children's day-to-day activity, anecdotes created by mentors and documenting their works such as photos, videos, worksheets, we measure their level of intelligence and further development. The observation is crucial parts of our adapted philosophy.

How Do You Define "Inquiry-based Learning and the Reggio Emilia Approach'?

Inquiry-based learning is in line with International Baccalaureate (IB) Primary Years Programme (PYP), which is an educational program managed by IB for students between three to 12 years. It starts by posing questions, problems or scenarios. Such learning build strong learning patterns. Reggio Emilia approach is learning with the environment. Children spend lot of time outdoors with the nature. This triggers the young minds to come up with different questions and here the inquiry-based learning comes into picture. For instance, during one of our kindergarten classes, kids were being taught about growth of plants.

While the mentor was explaining air, water, soil and sunlight as friends of plants which help them grow, a child curiously asked that if air is one of plants' friends, then why during the recent cyclone in Chennai, it destroyed the trees. Out of this, the mentor was able to explain the difference between air and wind.

Adopting International Curriculum in Preschools Has Become a Key Trend for Market Growth.

Adopting to international curriculum at the preschool level prepares the students for the next level of schooling. This is really crucial with the coming of artificial intelligence. Most preschools don't follow the updated international curriculum. This gives us a cutting edge.

Any Particular Challenge You are Facing?

The biggest challenge which most of the preschools face is the lack of competent teachers. We are one of the few schools with very low attrition. Our evolving teacher training institute addresses the problem.

How Has the Growth Been Since Your Launch?

Since our inception in 2015, the number of kids' enrolment has doubled. We occupy major market share. Since mentors are the real pillars of any successful preschool, we select them by scrupulous interviews which include demos, trainings, and practical sessions.

What About Growth in Next Two-three Years?

We see ourselves as a major institute focusing on early education and having large presence across India. Thus, it will enable parents to understand the importance of formative years of learning.

(This article was first published in the March issue of Entrepreneur Magazine. To subscribe, click here)