Sikar (Rajasthan)-based serial entrepreneur Shiv Ram Choudhary is the founder of Codevidhya India Pvt. Ltd (estb.2016), his latest venture that offers K-X schools a comprehensive and well-designed computer science coding learning programme comprising specially written textbooks, teacher training, assessments, project mentorship, skill certification and compatible online resources developed by the company. Committed to the cause of universal primary-secondary education, Choudhary also promoted the K-X Euro International School, Sikar in 2007.

Newspeg. Codevidhya marked its third-anniversary celebrations in January (2019) with a commercial launch after completing two successful pilot projects. Currently, 24 schools affiliated with CBSE and the Rajasthan Board of Secondary Education have signed up with Codevidhya. Among them: The Grandeur International School, Bangalore, ten Isha Vidhya schools in Tamil Nadu and Floreto Junior World School, Rajasthan with an aggregate enrolment of 10,000 students.

History. An English postgraduate of Rajasthan University, Choudhary resigned from the Rajasthan public service commission in 2002 to follow “his true calling”, i.e, education. Starting his new vocation as a franchisee of the EuroKids group — India’s largest chain of pre-primaries (1,000 plus) — in 2004 he promoted Euro International School, Sikar, investing a modest sum of Rs.25 lakh from his personal savings. Enthused by the success of the school which currently has 1,500 children and 130 teachers on its muster rolls, three years ago Choudhary co-promoted Codevidhya with an investment of Rs.2 crore.

Direct talk. “In the new digital world, coding is as foundational a subject as math and science. However, the subject is usually taught as an optional. In my opinion, every student from class I onward needs to learn about algorithms, the Internet and how to design apps. Our Codevidhya textbooks and online resources teach primary children these skills. Through coding education which includes computational thinking, design, logical reasoning, problem-solving and programming, our objective is to equip students with 21st century skills to make them job-ready and employable,” says Choudhary, who has carefully studied the much-acclaimed Finland K-X education model and adapted it to Euro International.

Business model. The 12-month Codevidhya supplementary coding education programme is for institutions. School managements are obliged to sign up all enrolled students and pay Rs.800-1,200 per year per student to the company.

Future plans. With Codevidhya having signed up 24 schools and 10,000 school children within a mere five months, Choudhary is bullish about the future of his latest venture. “We are expanding our reach to Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Delhi NCR, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra where the initial response to our unique coding education programme is enthusiastic. We have also developed online and fast-track code learning programmes for individual subscribers, and summer/winter camps for young coders. I believe coding will soon become mandatory in K-12 education,” says Choudhary.

Paromita Sengupta (Bangalore)