The Diplomat
The Instituto Cervantes has announced the upcoming opening of its first extension in India, specifically in Bangalore, a city with more than eight million inhabitants and considered the “Silicon Valley” of the country.
According to the institution, the Cervantes board of directors has approved the opening of the extension, which will begin offering Spanish courses at the beginning of next year and will depend on the New Delhi center.
Bangalore, located in southern India and capital of the state of Karnataka, is home to numerous technology companies and research and educational institutions. It is also home to the Indian aerospace program and the Kannada-language film industry (official in the state).
The technological, economic, educational and demographic potential of Bangalore (the fourth most populous city, behind Bombay, Delhi and Calcutta) makes it “the ideal place to open the first extension of Cervantes in India, as the demand for Spanish language learning is expected to be strong,” the institute said in a press release. In this regard, several Cervantes-related institutions, such as the Alliance Française and the Goethe Institute, have confirmed that it is the second Indian city with the highest number of requests for foreign language classes.
The forecast of a high demand for Spanish classes from January 2023 in the future Bangalore extension is also based on data from Cervantes New Delhi, which is the center with the highest number of students per year. Inaugurated in 2009, last year it exceeded 6,000 enrollments, ahead of other Cervantes centers around the world.
In the coming months, the Instituto Cervantes will rent a site in Bangalore where it will carry out the necessary works to create eight classrooms and other facilities (such as a reception and a staff room). The feasibility study contemplates that, as of the third year of teaching activity, it will be able to reach, or even exceed, one hundred percent self-financing.
