HDFC to enter education sector

Housing finance major, HDFC Ltd, is planning to set up schools and provide allied services like vocational training or teachers' training programmes.

The company, which already offers educational loans through its subsidiary Credila Financial Services Private Ltd, will now provide financial support for setting up educational institutions or improving existing institutions.

A press release issued on Wednesday, quoted Mr Deepak Parekh, Chairman, HDFC, as saying, “To support such an initiative, we will start with some baby steps and envisage building an education organisation on the principles of efficiency, effectiveness, integrity and transparency which have been so successfully applied and institutionalised within HDFC.”

HDFC's strategy is to enter India's vast education sector by way of participating in the segment of schools. The long-term objective is to create a visible impact on school systems across the country by providing school management and other allied services, apart from setting up initial flagship schools, the release said.