after Dearing

The NIIT Academy: A unique

education
Higher
‘university’ in the making
C. R. Mitra
NIIT is a highly successful This paper describes the Indian for-profit education February 1996, it opened its first education centre
for-profit education company NIIT and outlines the key development outside of India, in Kathmandu, Nepal. Currently,
company with global reach, of, and background to, the ‘NIIT Academy’.This is a in India, NIIT has 140,000 students, and a staff of
which grew by capitalising unique ‘university’ being created, driven by education 3,500 people – 2,800 in the technical workforce.
on the failings of the Indian entrepreneurs, which could become a model for Including the 400 franchises, it brings the total
state education system to others to emulate world-wide. number employed to 6,000 people in India. As
provide employable of 31 December 1996, NIIT had 15,314
graduates in computer Scope of education at NIIT shareholders. 15% of shares were owned by foreign
education. Dr Mitra NIIT is a Public Limited Company with its head individual investors, 7% by Indian financial
describes the company, office in New Delhi, India. It is the largest provider institutions, and 78% by individual investors.The
then explores the changing of computer education and training in India, with a market capitalisation as of February 1997 was Rs
forms of universities, the market share of 37%.The company has more than 8,370 million (US$216 million).Table 1 below gives
rôle of the private sector in 500 centres in India, and has recently expanded into financial highlights. Education and training was easily
these and the challenges of overseas markets, with wholly owned subsidiaries in the largest earner in 1996, with about 60% of total
the future. He concludes five regions of the globe, operating in 18 countries revenue, although this has been falling steadily over
by outlining how the including Indonesia, Singapore, China, Zimbabwe, the years, and is expected to continue to fall as a
‘NIIT Academy’ is emerging Botswana and the USA. It also provides training and proportion of total earnings in future years.
as a possible model software consultancy for companies, and has its own There are four strands to NIIT’s education and
for universities for educational multimedia software production facility, training. First, the most important is the CEG – the
the next century. with 550 personnel employed, making it the largest Career Education Group. 60% of NIIT’s Education
in the world.With a history stretching back 18 years, and Training turnover comes from this strand.The
NIIT boasts 500,000 alumni and a corporate majority – 80% – of students on this course are
network of over 1,000 companies. already ‘full-time’ students at an Indian university,
What was to become NIIT was conceived in 1979 10% are working and 10% unemployed. Many
by Rajendra S. Pawar, now Vice Chairman and students and employers find Indian university
Managing Director, then a development officer for a computer courses unsatisfactory, because they use
computer company in Bombay. He was aware both out-of-date technology and methods, and are
of the need for trained computer staff and of the undemanding for students. Hence NIIT works
unsatisfactory nature of the computer education in ‘in tandem’ with the formal sector, and offers a
Indian universities.With two colleagues he set up a four semester (two year) course to students already
company, which opened its first Computer Education enrolled in a state university. Allowing time for
Centre in a leased room in an office building in revising for exams for both courses, at the end of
down-town Bombay, in 1982. In the same year it three years students can become graduates of an
opened a second centre in Delhi.The teaching Indian university, and have an NIIT Professional
model and company philosophy developed in part Diploma in Network-Centred Computing.The
out of the need to conserve space, and, because of great majority also go on to the one year NIIT
the acute shortage of teachers in India at the time, Professional Practice option.This is a one-year
the need to utilise effectively whatever teaching time placement whereby students are given a mentor in
was available. In 1993, the company was listed on the NIIT and a supervisor in the company where they
Bombay and Delhi (National) Stock Exchanges. In are employed, and paid a stipend for their full-time

Table 1: NIIT financial results 1989–97, US$ millions

Year ending 30 Sep 30 Sep 30 Sep 30 Sep 30 Sep 30 Sep 30 Sep 30 Sep 30 Sep
1997 1996 1995 1994 1993 1992 1991 1990 1989

Global turnover 111.18 73.10 43.11 – –

Net revenue 84.49 60.87 39.31 24.03 – 11.28 6.89 4.96 4.44
Total expenditure 65.77 47.88 30.38 18.09 – 8.42 5.78 4.08 3.30
Profits before tax 18.71 13.01 8.93 5.94 – 2.87 1.08 0.88 1.14
Tax 1.19 0.62 0.26 0.39 – 0.34 0.05 0.10 0.05
Net profit after tax 17.53 12.39 8.67 5.55 – 2.53 1.03 0.77 1.08
C. R. Mitra is President,
NIIT Academy (National Institute (– indicates unavailable figures)
for Information Technology). Source: NIIT annual reports.

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Copyright © 2000. All rights reserved.
 The NIIT Academy work.This stipend is calculated to cover all the fees trained teachers, the expense of teachers and the
for the NIIT course.This is an extremely successful shortage of space, from the very beginning NIIT
model, with over 1,000 companies taking part, had to be conscious of rationing space and teacher
and in the great majority of cases, students find contact time.To this end, it has used its R&D
full-time employment with their placement departments to develop teaching methods which
company. At the end of this process, provided they reduce contact time and carefully utilise space. NIIT
have satisfied their supervisor and mentor, they has two research and development departments.The
become a ‘GNIIT’, a Graduate of NIIT. first is a pure research unit, with about 20 people,
The second key part of the education and training many with PhDs, whose brief is simply to pursue any
business is the ETG – Executive Training Group, interesting ideas in education and the cognitive
which has seven ETCs (Executive Training Centres). sciences, without any need to look for commercial
These are Authorised Technical Education Centres, in application. 0.7% of turnover is spent on this pure
partnership with Microsoft, at which companies can R&D – about US$1 million. In part these funds are
book courses.There are also about 100 CLCs justified in terms of brand promotion – in the 1980s,
(Computer Learning Centres), which are set up as NIIT was always thought of as a coaching class, and
turnkey operations for particular companies. one solution was that NIIT should be seen to
Third, there are the LFC – Leda Family Clubs. generate knowledge. Just as in a university
These have only been running for two years, and department, the productivity of the R&D is
focus on learning through ‘edutainment’, using measured in terms of publications in international
NIIT’s brandname software, LEDA – Learning journals, conference attendance, and so on.The
through Exploration, Discovery and Adventure. second R&D department – STRIDE (STrategic
Through these, children (and adults) learn Research In Development Education) – is
mathematics, English, computing, geography and application-focused, and employs 40 researchers.
science through multimedia learning packages. It has a generic brief from senior management:
LFCs operate in family homes.There are also ‘if we (or a competitor) can teach this course in
centres opening in schools. Here, the LFC takes over an hour, how can we teach it in half an hour?’
all or much of the computer tuition in the school, Or, ‘if it takes us one month to develop this course,
with usually these facilities offered free to the school, how can we develop it in half a month?’This uses
in return for free rental of the premises which can about 5% of turnover.
then be used to generate revenue out of school In NIIT India, each centre has a RICC (Regional
hours. A key part of the marketing for LEDA is the Industry Collaboration Cell), whose task is to keep
research which has been conducted by NIIT’s R&D continually in touch with Information Technology
department (see below), which shows that children CEOs and recruitment personnel, in order to get a
who learn through multimedia do better in the feel for what is needed in the market and to help
classroom at the subjects than those who learn place students.They keep a detailed database of all
through conventional tuition methods. students, and match individuals to the recruitment
Fourth, there is IEG – the International Education needs of particular companies.
Group.There are 18 countries in phase 1 of the NIIT pursues aggressive newspaper advertising, but
expansion, which started only 11⁄ 2 years ago.There also successfully ran its own radio show, now replaced
are centres in China, five in Malaysia, two in by an equally successful television show ‘BOOT IT’.
Zimbabwe, and three in Indonesia. NIIT has also This is in a commercial slot, financed by selling
recently moved into distance learning, with advertising space at the beginning, middle and
‘NetVarsity’, run from a server located in their end of the programme, which aims to introduce
American concern (because it was too difficult to people to the world of computing – and also acts
obtain an Indian connection from the government as a marketing conduit to further NIIT courses.
quango, and also illegal to charge fees), but using all It is advertised as a free computer literacy programme
the software developed in India. Initially, this was a for the masses, and is a 24-episode series broadcast
free venture, but fees have been introduced from on metro and national channels. It also broadcasts
January 1998. in Pakistan and Mauritius.
A key part of the NIIT philosophy is in the pursuit NIIT’s brand-building seems to be highly
of teaching innovation and efficiency. Because of the successful: recent Gallup research in India shows that,
economic imperatives indicated earlier – shortage of just as people use ‘making a Xerox’ as synonymous

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Copyright © 2000. All rights reserved.
with ‘making a photocopy’, so ‘doing an NIIT’ is universities did make major paradigm shifts when
synonymous with ‘studying a computer course’. required to adjust to at least some of the events
NIIT has found an extremely viable market niche. recorded below:
Building on the inadequacy within state education, it ECONOMIC
was able to complement it rather than replace it, • when science was introduced into the medieval AFFAIRS
which was seen as a valuable way of maintaining universities, previously steeped only in the September 1998
political capital. Driven by economic necessity, it has pursuit of excellence in humanities and liberal
shown the power of scientifically looking at all inputs arts;
and outputs into the teaching and learning process, • when professional subjects such as engineering,
in order to maximise teacher and student efficiency. management, medicine, and so on were
Before turning to outline the development of the incorporated into the domain of university
particularly innovative NIIT Academy, three short courses;
digressions are in order to conduct a reinterpretation • when coping with an expanding band of
of the history of the universities, to delineate the disciplines of knowledge, universities had to
types of private participation in higher education and make academic integration and achieve
to identify some critical demands of the twenty-first structural flexibility.
century.What is intended is to take these three
strands and weave a pattern.The pattern can then Thus, it can be stated that universities have in the
act as a backdrop to facilitate the discussion of past made orderly discontinuity possible.They moved
the NIIT Academy itself. out of a normal slow evolutionary path and
successfully met the challenge of new historical
Three digressions developments.That is the most reassuring lesson from
Changing forms of universities the history of universities. Given this, is would seem
Since the beginning of institutional learning, as that the ongoing challenge of market forces
distinct from autonomous or chance learning, all relentlessly impacting on the insulated functioning of
societies assigned to the universities the exclusive task the universities will also create many new forms to
of dealing with various aspects of knowledge, namely deal with these forces.These include proprietary
creation, transmission, codification, preservation, colleges, and there is optimism that the accreditation
application, distribution and updating. However, the process can be extended to include these for-profit
pursuit of knowledge has always been circumscribed educational institutions, thereby formulising
by requirements of social dimensions and the laws ownership of a university by a corporate entity.
of economics. In fact, historically all universities
had to shape a particular form in balancing the Private rôle in universities
constraints imposed by epistemological, societal The word ‘private’ does not describe the educational
and economic factors. No university can ever stand category of an institution. For the present purpose it
outside this combination. It is, however, a different is useful to identify the numerous manifestations
matter that public policy sometimes deliberately whereby private funds, as distinct from public funds,
shielded the system from the harsh effects of some have furthered the cause of education and training.
of these factors. These include examples where:
To discharge its teaching functions, any university
provides programmes of studies which stretch over • in the face of a declining share of public funds
a predetermined time span. A student has to reside to universities, governments in contemporary
in the system to complete even the smallest societies invited input from private funds in
fragment.Therefore, a university cannot make order to balance the budget of ongoing
frequent changes, as might be possible for other universities.This is basically a rescue operation
institutions.This fact might have contributed to the through one-time donations or through
notion that universities are changeless and only sustained contributions;
perpetuate themselves.To identify moments of radical • students are coached through private
change in the long history of universities one has to enterprises to prepare them for public © Institute of Economic Affairs 1998
view that history over, say, centuries. Focusing on examinations; Published by Blackwell Publishers,
108 Cowley Road, Oxford, OX4 1JF,
the entire period covered by the nineteenth century • in-house training is organised by manufacturing UK and 350 Main Street, Malden,
and twentieth century, it is clearly established that or service industries; MA 02148, USA

19
Copyright © 2000. All rights reserved.
 The NIIT Academy • training is provided as a business proposition to and students across national boundaries will have
customers who need short-term courses; to face a competitive global market.
• degree-awarding universities franchise out
delivery of their courses and degrees, partly or It also seems likely that more purposive and
fully away from the principal campus; effective bridges will have to be built between the
• some educational entrepreneurs, spurning these world of studies and the world of work to meet
subsidiary roles, decide to establish institutions as the following objectives:
new and alternate modes of delivery of higher
education.This pioneering thrust resulted in • reduction of the mismatch currently faced by
the formation of different kinds of universities, graduates when entering the workplace between
dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge but knowledge and skills developed in the university
paying taxes. system with those demanded by employment;
• faculty competence to assimilate knowledge
Having identified some of the concrete rôles in action and generation in the two worlds
private participation in higher education has played, of work and academia to achieve a dual
it should be evident that there is no single path or capability;
choice which is to be universally prescribed.The • removal of asymmetry in curricular updating
choice of the rôle would largely depend on the so that the benefit of all knowledge irrespective
genius of the private party and the purpose for of the source enlightens the curricula;
which the party will invest in higher education. • theory–practice symbiosis to permeate all
course offerings whether delivered in the
Imperatives of the twenty-first century classroom or through online activities;
The well-known model of the university came to • current predominant practice of teacher-
fruition in the nineteenth century and was further propelled courses will have to imbibe more
elaborated in the twentieth century. However, for inputs from technology;
some of the unresolved issues and the new issues • new forms of higher and continuing education
that the twenty-first century will generate, it is a will have to be designed to cope with the
moot question whether the system is really ready unprecedented increase in demand and
to move in the future with confidence and dispatch. participation;
First, a catalogue of the issues that await solution • overcoming of country regulatory environments
in the twenty-first century is likely to include which prevent free-market operations both
the following: for the provider and the customer.

• there will be inexorable rise of for-profit, The list is forbidding and daunting. No single
non-degree further and higher education institution can tackle all these issues simultaneously.
providers who will pose a challenge and Each institution, on the basis of its charter and
competition to the non-profit degree mission, will have to identify a list of key and
providers; integrated issues to make a full design of the
• the state will follow a binary approach towards particular formal structure it wishes to invent.
university education.While selected élite Instead of passively waiting for the future to
institutions will be given full support to develop unfold, visionary providers must start now to
into the form of research universities, the rest build the future systematically.
of the universities will be strongly nudged to
seek alternate resources; Shaping of the NIIT Academy
• tuition fees will invariably rise to cover The NIIT Academy was born out of the resolve
increasing cost, and this increase in fees will of an educational provider to become truly an
put customers at centre stage.They will develop educational entrepreneur. In this mission it was
new attitudes, new expectations of return not necessary to copy any inherited model of
on investment and will certainly demand a form and structure of a university.While working
variety of options; and out the details it was obvious that some of the
• the arena of operation of all university systems burning issues of the twenty-first century should
will become truly global. As a result, providers be answered.

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Copyright © 2000. All rights reserved.
 The genesis of the NIIT Academy can be traced transferred in the setting of an online situation so
back to the year 1989 when two things happened at that both familiarity with industrial activity and
NIIT. First, NIIT came to the conclusion that mere further educational pursuit go on simultaneously.
aggregation of semesters in career education without For this component of Professional Practice a ECONOMIC
a reference point lacked the universality of vision panel of more than 100 industries has joined in a AFFAIRS
which is the hallmark of a university. It is the partnership not only to facilitate this educational September 1998
university system which supplies the appropriate requirement but also sanction stipends to the
metaphor of learning in higher education. Second, students who earn the same on the strength of
NIIT brought persons with proven competence in their contribution to industrial production.
making successful innovative changes in the degree- By a mere alignment, imaginatively executed,
giving university system into the company.These of the education delivered by stand-alone providers,
persons formed the ‘Higher Education Wing’.This substantial value addition was achieved to otherwise
wing acted as the think-tank and formulated a new unemployable students with a general purpose
vision in the development of NIIT education.The bachelor degree (in arts, science and commerce)
wing undertook the major task of undertaking that Indian universities have a tendency to award
institutional research and of creating a know-how in large numbers. By this one single stroke a market
formation in all matters dealing with higher segment was captured to serve it better than before.
education.This became a continuing endeavour, The grant of stipends by industry during Professional
constantly unfolding possibilities of new directions. Practice not only relieved the financial burden of
At least one outcome of the above labours was a the students but also acted as a living demonstration
standardisation of educational content and rigour in of the worthiness of the GNIIT Certification.
the NIIT Certification – the hierarchy of: Intimate contact with industry through Professional
Practice has a built-in feedback loop by which the
a) Professional Diploma in Network-Centred
curricula are continuously updated. Of course,
Computing (PNC);
the normal placement exercises also act as another
b) Graduate of NIIT (GNIIT);
loop available to the task of updating the curricula.
c) Associate of NIIT (ANIIT);
Both the GNIIT and Professional Practice
d) Fellow of NIIT (FNIIT).
acquired all the attributes of brand names.The
These certifications were consciously placed on a degree of market acceptance is measured in terms
parity with well-known degrees such as bachelor’s, of competitive placement of GNIIT in the
master’s and doctorate. Significantly, at the levels of workplace, compared to degree-holders in IT
ANIIT and FNIIT, for the first time areas of studies from Indian universities. As of now there are
outside purely IT were built in the curricula. 5,000 students enrolled in GNIIT and more
Having formulated the above certifications, an would join if facilities are enhanced.
informed decision was taken to delay the launch of It is at this stage that new directions were indicated
ANIIT and FNIIT. On the other hand, full thrust which warranted serious attention in view of the
was given to the implementation of GNIIT and the market success of GNIIT. Opportunities were
admission of students.The objective was to first make revealed in terms of three specific directions, namely
GNIIT a market success and meet the genuine
(i) the strong possibility of export of GNIIT to
requirements of student customers.
countries outside India where NIIT for other
Now, GNIIT consists of three important
business reasons had already entered;
components, namely simultaneous pursuit of two-
(ii) GNIIT Certificate holders wanting to pursue
year IT courses for PNC along with the pursuit
ANIIT and FNIIT
of a three-year bachelor degree (in arts, sciences and
(iii) many Indian and foreign universities making
commerce) in a neighbouring college affiliated to
overtures for suitable tie-ups with NIIT.
an Indian university. After the completion of these
three years of studies, students qualify to pursue It was therefore decided to move into a new
the fourth-year study in the setting of an IT industry plateau of development based on NIIT’s core
through a third component described as Professional strength and company-wide thrust.While the Higher © Institute of Economic Affairs 1998
Practice.This component is never a mere exposure Education Wing continued to be the main designer Published by Blackwell Publishers,
108 Cowley Road, Oxford, OX4 1JF,
to industry as in the inherited model of practical and think-tank, a strategic decision was taken to UK and 350 Main Street, Malden,
training. It is an educational process which is move visibly to the ultimate task of creating an MA 02148, USA

21
Copyright © 2000. All rights reserved.
 The NIIT Academy alternative university. As a first step, the NIIT Academy • all NIIT Certification holders from any Centre
was designed and launched at the end of January have been granted an academic equivalence in
1996. Since the personnel of the Higher Education terms of years of study in the IT area at any
Wing and the Academy overlap, the strategy was for NIIT Centre.Thus, it is possible to implement
the two entities to work in tandem.The primary task advance standing admission for such NIIT
of the NIIT Academy is to create an ambience for alumni for further residual studies in the
which a good university is justifiably applauded. campus of this university;
The mission of the Academy is to create the • NIIT career education and the programmes of
culture of a university and eventually grow into studies of this university were linked so that
a full-fledged university. In the meanwhile, it movement of students from one system to the
would provide an overall umbrella support and other is possible;
adopt new learning metaphors. • the components of Professional Practice and
The unfinished task of working out details of the Internship were pronounced as academically
content and mode of delivery of ANIIT and FNIIT valid and desirable;
was completed. A new component called Internship • the alliance also visualises eventual award of
was provided in the ANIIT curriculum.This is an degrees of this university away from its campus
advanced version of Professional Practice attached at any NIIT Centre. Even a joint award of
to GNIIT. For the first time the curricula offerings degrees is a distinct possibility.
extended to include areas other than pure IT.Thus,
specialisations were created to include university The alliance certainly is not a ‘fly by night’
as an area of study, management of software operation but a perpetual educational tie-up.The
development, management of science and technology first formal agreement has created a multiplier
and management of service industries. effect whereby additional alliances are becoming
Another important concept is that for teaching possible, leading to a tie-up between the NIIT
ANIIT courses and for guiding the FNIIT thesis, Academy and a panel of universities.
professionals in NIIT were identified who also It is natural to seek categorisation of the NIIT
qualified to be pronounced as university faculty. Academy in terms of known types of higher
This is the concept of dual capability of persons education institutions. But the exercise would be
who teach. For NIIT Centres outside India it was futile, simply because the words in current use are
evident that a mere transplantation of the GNIIT inadequate to describe the emergence of the NIIT
structure would not be appropriate. Alternate Academy. For example, merely to call it a private
pathways to complete GNIIT without recourse institution does not describe its generic character.
to general-purpose bachelor degrees are being Further, it is not a training industry in as much as it
worked out. has moved from the ‘backwaters’ of mere training to
In responding to the overtures from Indian and the mainstream of higher education. It is indeed a
foreign universities the NIIT Academy faced its radically different institution nurtured through
greatest challenge. Sustained and time-consuming private entrepreneurship. Similarly, it is not a
dialogues ensued between the Academy and some corporate university simply because it does not exist
like-minded universities.The first breakthrough came only for the inhouse training of company personnel.
in January 1998 when a university outside India It is not a virtual university since the dominant
formalised an educational and research alliance with delivery mechanism is only through classroom-
the Academy.The alliance is not a twinning oriented methodology.
arrangement nor an articulation agreement. It is an The model ipso facto recognises that knowledge
equal academic partnership between a non-profit exists in two kinds of relationships, namely
degree-providing university and a for-profit non- educational and exchange. In the educational
degree provider like the NIIT Academy.These are relationship an institution establishes equivalence
the following key features: between its courses and courses offered by another
institution.This is a well-known practice of all
• the Academy was assigned the educational universities, whether non-profit or for-profit. It is the
responsibility to act on behalf of this university, exchange relationship which has been misunderstood
thereby according the Academy a de facto generally by non-profit institutions.The model
university status; clearly points to the direction that an empowered

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student seeks a market evaluation in terms of the pursuit of educational excellence requires
remuneration received in the market.The institution simultaneous fulfilment of economic viability and
itself has to go to the market to hire experts to social acceptance.This conclusion is reinforced by
operate the system. Similarly, the institution has to go laudatory international responses to these three ECONOMIC
to the market to raise resources by competing with successful experiments.The task is basically one AFFAIRS
other claimants of the same resources. of replication of such experiments throughout September 1998
the world.
A personal conclusion There is yet another conclusion available from the
Ever since higher education felt the impact of a undisputed success of these three institutions.The
free-market economy, it has been concluded that antecedents and features of these institutions have no
since public funds would not be available, correlation with their success factors. Any institution
universities should develop methods of tapping can be funded by public funds or by private funds;
private funds. However, the crisis of higher can be non-profit or for-profit; can exist in the
education is deeper than a mere shortage of funds. market or outside the market.These alternate
If there are limits to public funds, there are likely to varieties are never prescribed by intrinsic educational
be limits to private funds. Moreover, it is important requirements.They merely pose alternate options to a
to distinguish between private funds as an add-on to planner and establish the organisational determinants
the system and private funds as an investment to only. Choosing any specific alternative neither
create alternative systems.The choice will be entirely ipso facto impairs educational excellence nor
made by the giver of the private funds. In any case, automatically ensures the same.
either there will be a demand to scrutinise how such It is also the author’s conclusion from these three
funds are proposed to be managed by the system or experiments that the task of recovery of higher
the fund givers may very well decide to invest in the education can no longer be the exclusive domain of
creation of new institutions. a non-profit, highly subsidised university system. It is
The author was instrumental in guiding a very possible and expected that educational entrepreneurs
ambitious change process in three institutions in will bring unblinkered views and perceptions and
India – a government-created college, a multi-faculty may develop alternate forms and organisational
university sponsored by an industrial house and features. But examples of such institutions are rare in
provision of programmes of studies as a business contemporary societies. A wise policy shift should
proposition, refined by an educational entrepreneur. encourage creation of more such institutions in every
Through a sustained involvement spanning decades, it country.The NIIT Academy serves as a living
was the author’s experience that the main task of example for educational planners of the future.

© Institute of Economic Affairs 1998

Published by Blackwell Publishers,
108 Cowley Road, Oxford, OX4 1JF,
UK and 350 Main Street, Malden,
MA 02148, USA

23
Copyright © 2000. All rights reserved.