EdTech company Janison Education Group (ASX: JAN) has signed the largest contract in its history with Government-owned Education Services Australia (ESA) to extend their collaboration. Janison will provide ESA with the technology behind the NAPLAN (National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy) online test across Australia. 

The new agreement has an initial term of three years plus three additional optional years, valuing the deal at over $24 million for the full six-year term. This is a significant win for Janison, which has signed its biggest contract ever. 

Janison CEO, David Caspari, said, “We are delighted to have renewed our agreement with ESA. NAPLAN Online is a critical tool for measuring the educational progress of Australian students and we are proud to continue to play a role in its delivery. This is also an important milestone in Janison’s history, signing our largest agreement which demonstrates the trust ESA has placed in Janison to deliver high-quality educational technology solutions. This builds on the strategic opportunities forged this year with Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press & Assessments looking into FY24 and beyond.” 

NAPLAN Online serves as a computer-based assessment tool utilised to evaluate the literacy and numeracy skills of Australian students in Years 3, 5, 7, and 9 across all educational institutions nationwide. With an annual user base exceeding one million students, the platform is the result of a substantial development effort carried out jointly by ESA, Janison, and Microsoft.

Under the terms of the new agreement, Janison will continue to provide ESA with the essential technology, support, and maintenance services required to administer the NAPLAN Online test. By leveraging Janison’s platform, ESA aims to enhance the efficiency, effectiveness, integrity, and data security of the NAPLAN program.

Janison will also work with ESA to develop new features and functionality. These will further enhance the capability of the platform and have the potential to deliver additional revenue in the form of software development services and performance testing. 

In March 2023, Janison’s assessment platform delivered a staggering 4.4 million NAPLAN Online tests for 1.2 million students, allegedly surpassing any other school assessment conducted globally. At its peak, over 300,000 students seamlessly participated in the exam simultaneously through Janison’s platform, ensuring the highest standards of exam equity across Australia without any technical hitches.

The ESA agreement builds on previous major contracts signed with Cambridge University Press & Assessment (CUPA) in September 2022 and Oxford University Press (OUP) in April 2023. The Cambridge agreement boasts a minimum contract value of about $1 million in revenue over three years but has already added $2.5 million in the last nine months in FY23. Similarly, the Oxford agreement has commenced with $1 million in total contract worth. However, given the anticipated test volumes, which are expected to surpass the minimum contractual requirements, Janison foresees a Cambridge-like revenue surge from the agreement.

Teaming up with the big dogs of the educational world, from Cambridge to now ESA, Janison is making a case for its EdTech platform raking in the money.