All you need to know about PW Gurukulam School, PhysicsWallah's offline primary school venture

PhysicsWallah Gurukulam: Alakh Pandey-led edtech unicorn PhysicsWallah (PW) is expanding its footprint into offline education for primary classes with the launch of PW Gurukulam School in Gurugram. The school, catering to students from play school to seventh grade, marks PW's foray into offline primary education.

PW Gurukulam School's inaugural batch has already enrolled 400 students, with its curriculum aligned with the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), according to a statement by PW. The school aims to provide experiential learning to students, focussing on areas such as financial literacy and entrepreneurship, and plans to incorporate programs like Model United Nations (MUN) to enhance the learning experience.

Commenting on the school's launch, Alakh Pandey expressed, "PW Gurukulam will be a platform for students to shape their futures through immersive and transformative learning. Our goal is to offer education that spans a wide spectrum, enabling students to choose from limitless possibilities beyond traditional career paths."

PW, initially an online platform offering coaching to IIT/JEE and NEET aspirants, was founded in 2020 by Alakh Pandey and Prateek Maheshwari. It has since diversified its offerings to include postgraduate programs, UPSC preparation, and upskilling courses.

While PW initially gained prominence as a YouTube channel, it has significantly expanded its presence in recent years. Despite the edtech sector's slowdown following the Covid-19 pandemic, PW, like many others in the industry, is venturing into the offline market. It inaugurated its first offline centre in Kota, Rajasthan, in June 2022, and currently operates 67 offline centers, PW Vidyapeeth, across 38 cities, serving nearly 1.5 lakh students. The company aims to double this number to over 120 centers by 2024.

In December 2023, PW, which achieved unicorn status in 2022 following a $100 million funding round, reported a 3.3X year-on-year (YoY) increase in revenue from operations to INR 771.76 crore in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23). However, the startup did not disclose its bottom line for the year.

This expansion comes amid challenges facing the Indian edtech sector amidst a funding winter. While BYJU’S, once a dominant player in the industry, is encountering difficulties, other startups are also feeling the impact of the funding crunch. Layoffs and cost-cutting measures are becoming commonplace as edtech startups navigate through this challenging period, with several shutting down operations due to the funding squeeze.