“We will continue to create unique PRODUCTS for school education”

“It will be a great opportunity, if NEP 2020 makes way for use of private publishers core subject textbooks by private schools in Tamil Nadu.”

–M Jayaraman

Established in 2011, Young Minds Press focuses on publishing K-10 books for private schools in Tamil Nadu. “With regard to core books, schools in Tamil Nadu are mandated to follow only Tamil Nadu government textbooks. Hence, we are publishing supplementary books and workbooks based on government textbooks,” shares M Jayaraman of Young Minds Press.

Subjects covered…

“We are publishing books for the following subjects: Grammar, GK, Moral Science, Computer, Writing books, colouring books and KG textbooks along with government textbook based core subject workbooks,” he shares. “We publish more than 300 titles, catering to more than 1500 schools in Tamil Nadu. Our books are available in three languages – English, Tamil & Hindi.”

On National Education Policy…

“Teaching in regional / local language /mother tongue will really have a big impact on us, as all private schools’ core USP is English medium education. Private schools need to adapt quickly to the changes and find ways to sustain and grow, which will in turn help us to sustain and grow along with them,” he shares.

Opportunities you expect from NEP…

“It will be a great opportunity, if NEP 2020 makes way for use of private publishers core subject textbooks by private schools in Tamil Nadu,” he opines.

On asking more about it, he explains, “Private publishers core subject textbooks were in use by all private schools in Tamil Nadu till 2010 only. Once Samacheer Kalvi education came into existence in Tamil Nadu from 2011, core subject textbooks market share became negligible percentage for private publishers. Regaining open textbook market will be our greatest opportunity.”

Overcoming challenges…

Adapting to changes and developments has become a routine to us. When government textbooks became mandatory for all schools in Tamil Nadu in 2011, every one concluded that private publishing will not exist anymore. But we came back even more stronger and doubled our share in the market,” tells Jayaraman.

“Now too, the conclusion about existence of private publishers will be the same. But, just like reference books in higher education, we too will create unique materials for school education and find ways to sustain and grow,” he adds.

Roadmap to success…

“Enhancing our products regularly based on the feedbacks is a practice followed by us and hence the ongoing projects too can be aligned to the new curriculum and assessment pattern if required. So it should not affect us as of now,” says Jayaraman.

Vision for the future…

“Print publishing in school education will continue to grow big and faster year after year and implementation of NEP 2020 will surely be a catalyst for the growth. Creative, innovative, purposeful and user friendly educational materials will be published regularly to survive, sustain and grow,” concludes Jayaraman.