Tourism in mind, VETA opens English training centre in Kashmir

Srinagar, Dec 26 (UNI) With an eye on huge tourism potential in Kashmir, VETA which claims to be the Asia's largest spoken English training academy, inaugurated its first such centre here today.

Speaking about VETA's foray into Kashmir, company Executive Director K V Rajan said tourism was an ever increasing industry in Jammu and Kashmir which has resulted in a lot of emphasis on English language skills.

He said tourism being one of the largest sources of revenue in Jammu and Kashmir, empowering the citizens to fluently converse in English would facilitate better communication among those employed in the industry.

''Jammu and Kashmir is a very important market for us. A recent survey showed that about 26 per cent of Indians place the Kashmir valley as their most preferred tourist destination. The state has played host to nearly 50,000 foreign and four lakh domestic visitors this year,'' Mr Rajan added.

The Executive Director said the batches would commence from mid-January next year at the centre located near the New Era Public School at Raj Bagh here.

''We hope to set up many more such centres in the state. I am sure VETA will serve as a one-stop-shop in catering to communication needs of the people of Jammu and Kashmir,'' he added.

Mr Rajan said VETA, an ISO 9001-2000 certified company, was formed in 1981 in Chennai with the intention of empowering every Indian to speak English fluently.

''Today, the academy has more than 100 centres across India and plans to set up over 500 in the coming years,'' he added.

VETA, earlier known as Vivekananda Institute, offered courses catering to various levels of learners. The Institute offered two courses - the Direct Class Training and Distance Education Course.

Mr Rajan said VETA has tied up with many leading corporates to provide English language training to their employees.

''VETA's success is primarily due to its simple and comprehensive course material and specially trained faculty. The courses are customised to suit the needs of various categories of people.'' Mr Rajan claimed that VETA has trained 1.9 million people in India to speak English fluently over the past 25 years.

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