DOON INTERNATION SCHOOL, was established in 1993 under the guidance and vision of Mr. Devinder Singh Mann with a goal to provide affordable, quality education to students and help them excel in their chosen field of choice. Mrs. Maninder Maan took it upon herself to form the framework of this arduous task and is the Founding Principal of Doon International School, Dehradun where the foundation stone was laid at ‘Pari Mahal’ in Dalanwala, Dehradun. After successfully surmounting all challenges, the school was a success in its first year itself with an overwhelming response of more than 500 students in its first batch.We had an Interview with the Managing Director of the Company, Ms. Gagan Mann and we closely got to know about the school and how it provides academic excellence to students.
Elaborate about the inspirational journey of your business?
We started Doon International School (DIS), Dehradun, as a CBSE Day and Boarding School in the year 1993. The school completed 25 glorious years in 2018, and is growing from strength to strength. The school is consistently ranked among top schools of the country and the number one CBSE school of Uttarakhand. The first branch of the parent school was set up in 2004, in Mohali, on the invitation of the Punjab government. Thereafter, several more DIS campuses (some of them braches and some franchises) have been established Pan-India. We are currently teaching more than 10,000 students under the aegis of DIS, Dehradun.
Tell us about the USP of your brand and where do you see yourself in next 5 years?
Doon International School, Dehradun is one of India’s leading and most reputed co-educational, day and residential educational institutions. We have successfully set up quality schools in different parts of the country in a very short span of time. DIS strongly believes in innovation and research and thus we have a unique and specialised child-centric curriculum for all our franchisees. The school is also ranked among the Top Schools in the country and the Number One CBSE School of Uttarakhand. Since we are very selective about who we give our school franchise to (which is due to our stringent conditions for appropriate infrastructure), we see our chain of schools growing gradually and more so qualitatively rather than quantitatively.
How long has the business been franchised and what is your vision for the business?
The first branch of Doon International School was started15 years ago in 2004. Since then, we have set up several of our school’s branches in various states across India. We foresee our franchising network grow organically throughout the Asian continent in the next five to ten years.
What kind of training and support do you offer to the franchise?
We provide end to end consultancy and assistance in setting up, initializing and maintaining Boarding, Day- Scholar as well as Day- Boarding school franchises. Services provided by us for setting up a franchise of Doon International School include- Branding and School Logo; Client and architect brief and assistance on development of site/building for the new school; Assistance in setting up the school and obtaining recognition and affiliation with the concerned authorities for CBSE/ ISC board; Human resource recruitment; Orientation and training sessions to teaching staff and school management; Curriculum and learning management; Guidance in procurement and material management; Advise on other school services including financial and cost management; Guidance on marketing and promotion etc. In short, we provide complete solution to our partner schools or franchises.
How many centers do you presently have and how many among them are franchisee run?
Currently we have nine campuses of Doon International School. Four of these are partner schools, meaning that managing committee members are common in these four schools, and we have six franchise schools of DIS being run independently by individual trusts/societies.
What are your general thoughts on the education sector and how can it be improved?
India holds an important place in the global education industry. The country has more than 1.4 million schools with over 227 million students enrolled and more than 36,000 higher education institutes. India also has one of the largest higher education systems in the world. However, there is still a lot of potential for further development in the education system. Since education sector is fundamental to development and growth of the nation, and in view of the current demographics of our country, there is a huge potential as well as need/demand for opening more privately owned schools across the country. In fact, educational institutions will never go out of business so it is the safest investment option. The education sector in India can be improved in several ways- changing our focus from rote-learning to skill based learning; rewarding creativity, innovation, research and original thinking; encouraging a breed of superstar teachers who are really smart and competent to do the job; implementing massive technology infrastructure for education; redefining the purpose of our education system to create entrepreneurs, innovators, artists, scientists, thinkers and writers; and finally personalizing education as one size does not fit all.
Please share the franchise facts of your brand with us?
Doon International School, Dehradun was established in the year 1993. Current strength is of 3800 students in DIS, city campus. Ranked the ‘Number 1 CBSE School’ in Uttarakhand. First branch, Doon International School, Mohali was set up in 2004. Admitted record number of 500 students on the very first day. Doon International School, Bhubaneswar (Orissa) was set up in 2014. Doon International School, Pondha (Uttarakhand) was set up in 2015. World Class and Award Winning 30 Acre Campus. Ranked ‘Most Promising New School’ and ‘High Potential School’ in the year 2016 by Education World magazine. Doon International School, Srinagar (Jammu & Kashmir) set up in 2014. Doon International School, Jammu (Jammu & Kashmir) set up in 2015. Doon International School, Amritsar (Punjab) set up in 2019. Awarded ‘Most Promising Upcoming School’ with ‘World Class Facilities’. Admitted 480 students on very first day of launching the school. Doon International School, Basirhar (West Bengal) set up in 2019. Doon International School, Shahjahanpur (Uttar Pradesh) coming up in 2020. Requirement for setting up a franchise of Doon International School (Nursery to K-12) is: Minimum 2-3 acres of land and minimum 1 acre land for the junior school franchise (Nursery-Grade V) ; sufficient investment for creating a modern and comfortable school campus with all necessary facilities; Good educational background of prospective franchisee along with basic understanding of education sector and passion for proving quality education to the masses; Decent location of the school campus with ease of accessibility from populous zones.
Elaborate about the inspirational journey of your business?
We started Doon International School (DIS), Dehradun, as a CBSE Day and Boarding School in the year 1993. The school completed 25 glorious years in 2018, and is growing from strength to strength. The school is consistently ranked among top schools of the country and the number one CBSE school of Uttarakhand. The first branch of the parent school was set up in 2004, in Mohali, on the invitation of the Punjab government. Thereafter, several more DIS campuses (some of them braches and some franchises) have been established Pan-India. We are currently teaching more than 10,000 students under the aegis of DIS, Dehradun.