Connectivity And Social Media Are Rapidly Changing The World Of Education: Vinod Gupta, VG Learning Destination

From where did the idea of VG Learning Destination germinate?

With an objective of being able to reach out to thousands of aspiring CA students and adding to my own passion for the subject, came the idea of establishing VG Learning Destination. Our vision is to provide high-quality education to all.

On huge pan India demand from our students and practical inability to accommodate everyone in the face to face classes, we launched our Virtual classes catering to the need of thousands of aspirants.

Tell us about your journey of establishing it?

Founded more than 30 years ago, the journey started with a humble number of 7 students and reached where we have trained as much as 30,000 CA aspirants in a year.

Over the last 30 years, we have trained more than 3,00,000 CA aspirants and 800 out of those have gone to become All India Rank Holders!

In building this brand name, we have successfully grown our presence pan India and in Nepal with more than 150 franchisee partners.

3. How are you dealing with the disruption caused by COVID-19? How long did it take you to ensure seamless teaching-learning process?

VG Learning Destination has always endeavoured to provide the best in class technological support to its students.

Apart from face to face classes, VG Learning has always launched its e-learning classes in the form of Pre-recorded classes for both CA as well as ACCA Qualifications along with e-learning for IFRS.

Since the present pandemic has affected face to face coaching, we were pre-emptive in our approach and were able to migrate to 100% online classes immediately.

E-books were also quickly devised and provided to the students without disrupting their study schedules.

What are the various courses being offered?

Apart from Direct Tax and International Taxation subjects from ICAI curriculum, VG Learning Destination also provides the ACCA curriculum training.

We are the GOLD Approved Learning Partners of ACCA providing high-quality training for ACCA via our knowledge partners Grant Thornton India LLP. This has helped our students achieve All India and World Ranks in ACCA.

We also provide the e-learning program of Diploma in IFRS via the same knowledge partners.

Very soon, our CPA-US Program shall be launched and that too powered by Grant Thornton India LLP.

We are also in discussion to launch a few more international qualifications and certification courses.

Give a brief about the role of knowledge partner – Grant Thornton India LLP?

Grant Thornton India LLP is one of the large consulting firms in India. With over 4,500 people and presence in 15 locations across 13 cities, they are a full-service firm and have practical domestic and international experience in dealing with all subjects which form part of our joint offerings. We are working together with them for the last 2 years.

They support our ACCA and CPA US courses as knowledge partners. The entire training is delivered by their subject matter experts to ensure that students learn about practical aspects along with conceptual knowledge. This partnership is a perfect blend of academics and industry knowledge which benefits students not just for their courses but also in the application of concept post their qualification.

At present, what is the strength of students enrolled in courses being served by you?

Direct Tax - more than 3,00,000 till date

Int Tax- more than 8,000 till date

ACCA – More than 6000

How ACCA and CPA help in building the careers of students?

ACCA and CPA are the highest professional qualification in finance globally. These qualifications are internationally recognised and provide students with a greater opportunity to work outside the country or in international environments among large consulting firms, KPOs, and many other MNCs. These courses focus more on expertise in international finance (IFRS, USGAAP) & International tax and their demand it is growing year on year.

There are a plethora of coaching institutions providing professional education? How do you manage to create a unique identity?

Consistently successful results of our students over the last 30 years have helped us create a brand value. Having Grant Thornton India by our side in the recent past has also created a unique proposition of academics and industry blend for students, which gives us an edge over others. Students always want quality education and practical insights and for that reason they choose us.  

The institution already has a cross-border presence in countries like Nepal, Dubai and Singapore. Do you also plan to enter into the educational market of other countries?

VG Learning has already set up an International unit with 88Tuition with a partnership with Anil Ahuja. 88tuition has been established with the social objective of making quality video-based learning material available to all Singapore students. It's ACCA, IFRS and CPA-US courses are powered by Grant Thornton India LLP as its Knowledge Partner. Technology, Connectivity and Social Media are rapidly changing the world of Education and 88Tuition has been instrumental in building up a strong brand name for itself with tie-ups with DBS Bank in Singapore, SINDA, NTUC in Singapore and the Securities Bank in the Philippines.

Share some success stories with us. 

Many of our students are partners of Big 4 & CEOs of multinational companies. The CEO of Nestle Sri Lanka, Gurcharan Grover is my proud student.  

1. Teaching Direct Tax and International taxation to CA Final students for 30 years
2. Produced over 800 Rank holders
3. Authored Direct Tax modules for CA Final students, several other books on International taxation, Summary cum revision module, MCQs, and Question book
4. Addressed numerous Students and Professionals in over 1000 seminars and national level conferences
5. Authored over 200 articles
6. All India Rank Holders in ACCA too
7. Awarded prize for the best paper on taxation in CA Final Examination.
8. Rashtriya Gaurav Award in 2017.
9. Awarded Honorary membership to ACCA in 2017.