Byju’s to shutter two in three offline tuition centres

Earlier this week, a WhatsApp group of parents whose children attend Byju’s Tuition Centres in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, suddenly lit up with activity. This group, which The CapTable has accessed, was created last year. Back then, it was a way for concerned parents to coordinate their efforts to hold the company to account for issues such as frequent lecture cancellations and faculty absenteeism.

Following the parents' complaints last July, Byju’s had made superficial attempts to alleviate these concerns. Consequently, for the past eight months, the group had remained dormant.

That changed on Monday. As parents began receiving calls from Byju’s regarding the closure of one of its two tuition centres in Jodhpur, the group sprang back to life. The centre being closed was located in the heart of the city, and the struggling edtech urged parents to send their children to its other centre, which is located approximately 10 kilometres away from the city centre.

“We cannot afford to send our kids there. That’s very far off,” one parent told The CapTable. “However, the company has not credited refunds either for the ones who cancelled their subscriptions last year. So, we are stuck. We cannot send our kids to the other tuition centre, nor can we cancel [the subscription] because what if we don’t get our money?” the parent lamented.

Jodhpur is not an isolated case. The CapTable has learnt that Byju’s is in the process of closing down numerous tuition centres across the nation as part of its latest cost-cutting measures.