Pre-school is the part of Indian education where franchising is most established. Operators such as Kidzee and EuroKids built large networks on a franchise model, and investors have paid for it: Business Standard reported in 2019, citing unnamed sources, that KKR was buying around 90% of EuroKids for about ₹1,400 crore. Yet the rules for running a pre-school are thin and uneven, and they are starting to change. This article sets out how a pre-school franchisor earns, what the published numbers do and do not show, and which rules a promoter or investor should check.
How a pre-school franchisor earns
CRISIL's September 2024 rating rationale for Lighthouse Learning, the group that owns EuroKids, says its pre-school segment is largely run through the franchisee model. The group earns franchise fees, royalty income and welcome-kit sales from these centres, and does not bear their fixed costs. K-12 schools in the same group earn mainly tuition and other fees.
Zee Learn's management discussion for FY26, which covers Kidzee, describes a franchise-led, asset-light growth plan focused on Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets. It attributes revenue growth to higher enrolments and new franchisee schools, along with new products such as branding kits. It does not state fee or royalty rates.
Maple Bear South Asia's own franchise page lists what a franchisor typically supplies: the curriculum, teacher training, school management software, marketing support, manuals, annual quality visits, and help with site selection and hiring. It also sets site minimums, including 3,000 sq ft with a play area. It gives no investment or royalty figures.
Franchise fee and royalty levels are not published by any regulator or rating agency we found. Franchise-listing sites quote investment figures, but we did not find an audited or regulatory source for them, so we do not repeat them. Ask a franchisor for the contract and for the audited numbers of existing centres.
How big the networks are
Operators' own figures are the only network counts available, and they are not audited. They are best read as claims.
| Operator | Claimed network | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Kidzee (Zee Learn) | 2,500+ pre-schools | Zee Learn's FY26 management discussion, as published by IIFL |
| EuroKids (now Lighthouse Learning) | Around 1,000 schools in 360 towns across India, Nepal and Bangladesh, run on a franchise model in India | Business Standard, August 2019. This is an older figure, and the pre-school share is not stated |
| Maple Bear South Asia | 130+ franchised businesses in India and South Asia | The company's franchise page |
On the financial side, CRISIL reports Lighthouse Learning's consolidated revenue at ₹688 crore in FY2023 and ₹1,093 crore in FY2024. That figure includes the group's K-12 schools, so it does not isolate the pre-school business.
A centre count says little about quality. If you are valuing a network, ask for centres opened and closed each year, renewal rates, and how many centres pay royalties on time. We could not find any of these in public sources.
What investors have paid for
Business Standard reported in August 2019, citing unnamed sources, that KKR would buy around 90% of EuroKids from Gaja Capital and the founders for ₹1,400 crore (about US$200 million), in its report on the deal. Other sources differ on the date, stake and price. In July 2026 Business Standard reported that KKR-backed Lighthouse Learning has agreed to acquire Pathways School Gurgaon for about ₹1,500 crore. We cover how such deals are priced in our note on disclosed school multiples and the investor view in why private equity is buying school chains.
The rules are patchy, and moving
A September 2023 note by Saga Legal in Bar & Bench says private pre-schools are governed by the 2013 National ECCE Policy, read with NCPCR's guidelines for private play schools, and that registration rules existed only in Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra. It says the rules are not fully developed or implemented in other states. On the question of profit, it says that running for profit is not legally barred, but that judicial precedent and the RTE Model Rules, 2010 call for not-for-profit operation. It also notes that the Right to Education Act leaves free pre-school provision to the government.
Maharashtra has since moved. Free Press Journal reported in April 2025 a state directive that private pre-schools for children aged 3 to 6 must register on a portal. Punekar News reported in August 2025 on a draft Early Childhood Care and Education Act with a penalty of up to ₹50,000 for running an unregistered pre-school, teacher qualifications aligned to NCTE guidelines, and state norms on fees and admissions. Critics said the draft was at an early stage and raised concerns about costs for small centres and the nursery entry age. We did not find confirmation that it has been enacted.
The direction is clear: registration, qualified staff and fee norms. A franchisor with thousands of centres will carry the cost of compliance across all of them, and an investor should price that in. We recommend checking state rules before agreeing to a centre, since the rules differ by state and are still changing.
Questions to settle before you sign
- Which state rules apply, and is the centre registered? Check the entity types the state allows, the age norms, and the staff and space requirements.
- What are you paying for? Separate the franchise fee, royalty, kit or product purchases and training, and ask what each covers.
- Who owns the site and the relationship with parents? Check what happens to both at renewal or exit.
- What does the franchisor guarantee? Look for territory protection, support and quality visits, and the right to inspect.
- What are the exit terms? Term, renewal, transfer, and what happens if the franchisor changes ownership.
- How are existing centres doing? Ask for the numbers, and speak to current and former franchisees.
If you plan to bring a foreign pre-school brand in, the licensing questions in our note on licence, franchise and management contract apply here too, although CBSE's rule on paying for a name is a rule for affiliated schools and we have not found that it extends to pre-school centres.
Common questions
Is there a law regulating pre-schools in India?
How does a pre-school franchisor make money?
How many pre-school franchises are there in India?
Investing in or franchising an early-years network?
MAS Advisory is partner-led, start to finish. Talk to us before you commit capital or sign a franchise agreement.
Sources: CRISIL Ratings rationale for Lighthouse Learning Private Limited (30 September 2024); Zee Learn Limited FY26 management discussion, as published by IIFL; Maple Bear South Asia's website; Business Standard (14 August 2019 and 22 July 2026); Saga Legal, "No laws to school the pre-schools", Bar & Bench (11 September 2023); Free Press Journal (24 April 2025); Punekar News report on the draft Maharashtra ECCE Act (24 August 2025). Network counts are company claims and are not audited. We did not find published franchise fee, royalty or unit-economics figures from a reliable source and have not included any. General guidance only. We do not give tax or legal opinions; confirm current requirements with qualified counsel before acting.