Test preparatory company Aakash Educational Services Limited is expanding in Bengal.

The company on Tuesday announced the launch of seven learning centres in the state to add to its existing 12.

The new centres will be in Calcutta (Dunlop and Behala), Asansol, Burdwan, Berhampore, Malda and Cooch Behar.

The centres are expected to be operational by the end of 2024.

The company, which has a pan India network of over 315 centres with over 4 lakh enrolled students preparing for NEET and JEE, is also looking to add around 100-150 centres across the country as part of its expansion plan.

“We are announcing seven new learning centres in Bengal as part of our policy to reach out to students in smaller towns,” said Deepak Mehrotra, MD and CEO, Aakash Educational Services.

According to Mehrotra, the expansion would be primarily supported by internal accruals. The company had reported a revenue of ₹1,464.3 crore and a profit of ₹79.5 crore in FY22 according to Tracxn data.

“The students of Bengal have consistently shown top performance year after year in NEET and JEE. I am sure that now more students in Bengal will be able to avail themselves of our courses,” said Anup Agarwal, chief strategy officer of AESL.

The CCI had in June approved the acquisition of a significant stake in AESL by Manipal Health Systems Private Limited and MEMG Family Office LLP by converting debt to equity.

The Manipal group is likely to have a shareholding of more than 40 per cent in the company.

Byju’s had acquired the brick-and-mortar test prep company for $940 million in 2021.

A proposal to merge the two entities reportedly did not go through.