Aakash Educational Services Limited (AESL), one of India’s leading test preparation and educational services organisations, has opened its first centre in Meghalaya and signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Assam Rifles to strengthen educational support for its personnel and their families.
The new Aakash Institute centre in Shillong marks the organisation’s first physical presence in Meghalaya and becomes its 10th centre in the Northeast. Located at Holding No. 383, Don Bosco Square, Upland Road, opposite St Margaret’s H.S. School in Nongkynrih, Laitumkhrah, the 7,000-square-foot centre has six classrooms with a combined capacity of more than 300 students.
The centre will offer coaching for NEET, IIT-JEE and other medical and engineering entrance examinations, enabling students from Shillong and across Meghalaya to access structured preparation without having to move to other cities.
With the Shillong centre, AESL now has nine other centres across the Northeast, located in Agartala, Dimapur, Imphal, Guwahati, Kamrup, Nagaon, Silchar, Jorhat and Dibrugarh.
Alongside the launch, AESL announced a long-term partnership with Assam Rifles through an MoU aimed at providing scholarships, fee concessions, mentoring and academic support to serving and retired personnel and their families across the country.
Under the initiative, families of personnel who died in harness will be eligible for a 100 per cent course fee waiver, excluding registration and admission fees. Gallantry awardees and personnel with more than 20 per cent disability will receive a 90 per cent tuition fee waiver, while those with less than 20 per cent disability will be eligible for a 50 per cent waiver.
Serving and retired Assam Rifles personnel, along with staff and students of Assam Rifles Public Schools, will receive tuition fee reductions of up to 30 per cent.
The educational support will extend beyond financial concessions, with AESL offering career seminars, dedicated academic query-resolution channels and fee protection for students affected by official transfers within the Northeast.
Similar MoUs have previously been signed by AESL with the Indian Army, CRPF, BSF and ITBP.
Speaking on the occasion, Aakash Educational Services Limited Managing Director and CEO Chandra Sekhar Garissa Reddy said the Shillong centre represented an important step towards making quality test preparation accessible to students in the region. He said the organisation’s focus was on bringing student-centric education closer to learners while combining the advantages of online and offline learning.
Reddy also welcomed the partnership with Assam Rifles, saying those who serve the nation deserve every possible opportunity for their families to grow and succeed. He said the initiative would help make quality academic support more accessible to defence families and contribute to their educational aspirations.
