Datuk Seri Dr Santhara Kumar Ramanaidu
Masterskill Education Group Bhd chief executive officer from January 1, 2010 to April 17, 2013

After steering Asia Metropolitan University (formerly Masterskill University College of Health Sciences) on to new horizons by opening up various new and exciting options in the education industry and achieving full university status, it is time for Santhara Kumar resigned from the company effective yesterday to pursue other interests and be an active citizen,” said the company in a filing with Bursa Malaysia.

Dato' Sri Dr. Santhara Kumar A/L Ramanaidu ("Dato' Sri Dr. Edmund Santhara") served as Group Chief Executive Officer of Masterskill Education Group Berhad from January 1, 2010 to April 17, 2013.

Dato’ Sri Dr. Kumar joined Boca Asia pacific Sdn Bhd as a Product Manager in charge of formulating and executing its marketing and sales plan for the asia pacific region.

He left Hitechniaga in 1997 to join MBF Finance Berhard as a Manager, where he was responsible for planning and executing marketing plans for Masterskill Education Group Berhad. In 1998, he joined Taylor's College Sdn Bhd, a part of the MBF Education Group, as its Head of Research and Development and competitive intelligence. In 1999, he left the MBF Group to provide consultancy services for educational institutions.

In 2001, he joined Cosmopoint college of technology as the centre manager/ Chief Executive Officer of its ipoh metro campus where he was responsible for the overall management of Masterskill Education Group Berhad.

He subsequently joined imperia institute of technology, Malaysia as its director of marketing in 2004 where he was responsible for formulating and executing Masterskill Education Group Berhad, marketing strategy.

He joined Masterskill in October 2004 as its director of Business development, where his duties included enhancing Masterskill Education Group Berhad, business opportunities and developments to spur growth.

He conceptualized, planned, implemented and managed projects which eventually boosted masterkill's revenue. In January 2005, he was promoted to the position of Chief Operating Officer where he was responsible for the overall management of masterkill including formulating company policies, rules and regulations.

In September 2005, he became the Chief Executive Officer of masterkill, responsible for delivering and driving revenue growth, mobilizing the business, implementing international franchise models.

He serves as a Trustee of Masterskill University College of Health Sciences (MUCH). He serves as a Director of Masterskill (M) Sdn Bhd.

He has been Non-Independent Non-Executive Director of Masterskill Education Group Berhad since April 17, 2013 and served as its Executive Director from May 26, 2008 to April 17, 2013.

He was awarded the Brand Personality Award by the Asia Pacific Brands Foundation and the Brand Laureatte in 2009.

He was name Malaysia's Ernst & Young Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year award to represent Malaysia in Monte Carlo at the Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

He was also selected to receive the 2007 National Youth Award from the Prime Minister of Malaysia on the National Youth Day.

In November 2008, he represented Malaysia in the Creative Young Entrepreneur Award competition at the junior Chamber International World Congress in New Delhi and won the world award.

Dato’ Sri Dr. Kumar was admitted as a member of the Malaysian Institute of Management in 1999. In 2007, he was admitted as a member of the Malaysian Institute of Human Resource Management and the Chartered Institute of Marketing, Malaysia. In 2007, he was also admitted as an associate member of the Harvard Business School Alumni Club of Malaysia after completing the ASEAN Senior Management Development program.

He graduated in 1994 with a Bachelor of Business Administration from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. He subsequently obtained a Master of Business Administration from the University of Strathclyde, Scotland in 1998. He obtained a Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing from the Chartered Institute of Marketing, Malaysia in 1999. He earned Doctorate in Business Administration at the university of Newcastle, Australia.

Masterskill Education Group Bhd (MEGB)

Self-made entrepreneur Datuk Seri Dr Edmund Santhara resigns as CEO of Masterskill in April 2013

Dr Santhara, 42, is Masterskill Education Group Bhd MEGB’s largest shareholder with a 23.8% stake valued at about RM56 million in 2013, which hit a valuation of RM426 million in 2010 at the peak of the company’s share price.

Dr Santhara will remain as a non-ED.

Masterskill Education Group Bhd MEGB’ main education arm, Masterskill University College of Health (MUCH), has been reframed as Asia Metropolitan University (AMU) and acquired the full fledged university status under Dr Shathara’s stewardship.

Masterskill University College of Health (MUCH) had traditionally been a nursing and healthcare college but Asia Metropolitan University (AMU) had ventured into providing business and management related courses.

Masterskill Education Group Bhd MEGB  made its debut on the stock exchange in 2010. Its share price take a beating from its initial public offering price of RM3.50 to the current lows of around 58 sen.

It had relied on the National Higher Education funding (PTPTN) for its students and had around 90% of its revenue coming from PTPTN funding at end-2010.

Things took a turn for the worse after the authorities had increased the entry requirements for the nursing and healthcare related courses which made up the bulk of Masterskill Education Group Bhd MEGB offerings. This saw a drastic drop in its student enrolment.

The share price which had hit a high of RM4.37 in 2010 had been on a downward spiral ever since. The rapid growth of nursing colleges around Malaysia has also contributed to keen competition in the industry which has affected the company adversely.

Another factor that affected the company’s profitability is the lower demand for nursing, which translated into lower revenue for the company. The company posted a net loss of RM28.3 million for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2012.

Reference : Businessweek

Having been in the red since the fourth quarter of 2011, Masterskill Education Group Bhd is determined to take the bull by the horns as it strives to return to profit.

While there remain persistent challenges in the home market, the health science education provider is now eyeing opportunities overseas, with a possibility of working with several foreign partners via a franchise model.

The group has widened its education offerings ranging from medical and allied health programmes to include business, hospitality and tourism courses.

To reflect its wider offerings and the new business model, Masterskill’s main education arm, Masterskill University College of Health, was reframed as Asia Metropolitan University last June.

The regrinding came with an upgrading of the education institution to a full-fledged university from a university college.

Masterskill deputy CEO Dr Jayles Yeoh said the group is currently working with the authorities to obtain the necessary approvals to provide educational offerings overseas.

“We have been granted a franchising license by KPDNKK [Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry] ..We have been losing [money], but we are trying to reverse the losses, I think by the first quarter of 2015, we should be out of the red.” Masterskill deputy CEO Dr Jayles Yeoh 

The group is scouting for suitable business partners in China, Myanmar and Bangladesh, where there is demand for higher education.

Management is making an effort to turn around by introducing new programmes and new strategies.


Masterskill’s revenue for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2012 (FY12) dipped to RM148.8 million compared with RM250.2 million for FY11. It registered a loss of RM28.3 million or 6.88 sen per share for FY12 compared to a net profit of RM45.3 million for FY11.  

Masterskill will continue to focus on widening its offerings, especially in degree programmes, where there is a higher demand and revenue compared with diploma programmes.

Masterskill will roll out a new flagship campus in Section 19 in Petaling Jaya by year-end for foreign students.

Apart from the hospitality management and travel tourism courses, the PJ campus will offer new business courses that will enable students to obtain their diplomas and Master of Business Administration (MBA).

The signing of a MoU with the Association of Business Executives (ABE) UK, December 2012, will enable students to pursue their studies in the UK. The ABE qualification is recognized by more than 80 universities worldwide.

The decline in revenue, which led to the losses, was mainly caused by a shortfall in the enrolment of students, especially in Masterskill’s nursing programmes.

The enrolment numbers dropped as the government reduced the National Higher Education Fund Corp (PTPTN) loans and the Malaysian Nursing Board raised the minimum entry requirements for its nursing courses.

According to a news report, the PTPTN loan scheme was reduced to RM45,000 from RM60,000 for each diploma student.

The decision by the Malaysian Nursing Board to increase the entry requirement for the diploma in nursing to five credits from three credits in the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia also affected the enrolment of students.

Masterskill has so far churned out 18,815 graduates and certificate holders from its five institutions in Kuala Lumpur, Johor Baru, Ipoh, Perak, Kota Baru, Kelantan, and Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, from 2007 to 2012.

Amid the challenges faced by the group, former Masterskill CEO and major shareholder Datuk Seri Santhara Kumar resigned from all executive positions in April 2013.

Santhara sold down the bulk of his shareholdings in Masterskill, reducing his stake to 6.25% as at May 3 this year from 22.1%.

He sold most of the shares to executive director Siva Kumar Jeyapalan, who now holds a 29.76% stake in Masterskill.

Masterskill closed at 52 sen last Friday, with a market capitalization of RM211 million.


Reference : The Edge Financial Daily, on August 05, 2013.
 

Largest Healthcare Education Provider and Largest Healthcare Operator

Masterskill Education Group Bhd. is Malaysia's largest provider of healthcare and nursing education.

KPJ Healthcare Bhd, the largest private hospital operator in Malaysia.

On July 25, 2011 KPJ’s education subsidiary, KPJ International College of Nursing and Health Sciences (KPJIUC), attained University College status from the Ministry of Higher Education (MoHE), giving it a boost in academic standing and the ability to grant its own degrees. At the award ceremony, KPJ announced that it plans to invest RM120 million in the physical expansion of its Nilai campus and aims to see a student enrolment of 10,000 by 2015.  KPJ college hopes to acquire the status of a full-fledged university by 2016.

By 2013 KPJ has become a competitor to Masterskill in Healthcare education providing.

KPJ is ambitious and confident about entering the playing field and there are good reasons for Masterskill to be wary of KPJ.

As Malaysia's largest private healthcare provider, KPJ has a large infrastructure of hospitals, doctors and nursing staff which can support its courses, provide its students on-the-job training, and give them future employment opportunities.

Masterskill is a pure education provider with no hospitals.

It is noteworthy that Masterskill’s current revenue base is about 10 times higher than KPJIUC’s, while its student base is over seven times larger than KPJIUC’s.

In FY10, Masterskill’s revenue was a strong RM315.7 million from a student population of over 18,300. KPJIUC, on the other hand, saw revenue of over RM30 million from a student base of 2,500 for the same year.

Both colleges have varying strategies to attract students.

20% of KPJ’s students are funded by the group and thus bonded to serve with the healthcare provider. This secures the student’s future with a job, and KPJ with a steady supply of quality new staff.

Meanwhile, 95% of Masterskill’s students subscribe to PTPTN (the National Higher Education Fund Corp). In 2012 the government reduced the loan amount per nursing student from Rm60,000 t Rm45,000. This cutback in government funding for the education scheme caused a major selloff of Masterskill shares immediately.

When it comes to practical training, KPJIUC has the advantage of various KPJ hospitals to send its students to. KPJ has a large network of 20 hospitals in Malaysia and two in Indonesia. Masterskill, on the other hand, depends on an arrangement with public hospitals.

On July 1, 2011, Masterskill entered into a 15-year agreement with the government for the use of its hospitals and community polyclinics, at a cost ofRM120 for each student per session for the usage of the facilities. With an enrolment of over 18,000 students, this will take quite a bite out of Masterskill’s revenue.

With its roots in healthcare, the KPJ group sees healthcare education as a synergistic and natural extension of its core business.

While KPJIUC continues to expand and strengthen its health sciences education sector with new programmes, including a medical programme, it is capitalizing on the strength of its hospitals, with priority to be given to post basic programmes, especially in nursing.

Masterskill, on the other hand, is looking to diversify its programmes out of healthcare. In April 2011, the group entered into an agreement with The University of Newcastle, Australia, for Masterskill to provide twinning programmes for Bachelor of Business and Bachelor of Commerce degrees to its students.

In 2013, Masterskill introduced new non-health science courses in the areas of :
1) Hospitality and tourism,
2) Information, communication and technology as well as
3) Engineering.

Both groups have overseas expansion plans in the pipeline.

In April 2011, Masterskill group CEO Datuk Seri Edmund Santhara signed an MoU on behalf of its unit Masterskill (M) Sdn Bhd with Indonesian listed PT Sejahteraraya Anugrahjaya (PTSA) to teach and train its students at the Mayapada Hospital in Tangerang, Indonesia, as well as to establish a university in Indonesia in the future.