A lot of buzz has been around the concept of online education lately and the everyday innovations in the industry are a big attraction for the same.
Indian edtech market bloomed at a rapid speed and the response of the consumer has been mixed. There are people who love the change for all the various reasons; primarily it has made education better. On the other hand there are people who are change resistant and have not been very appreciative of the mix for various reasons.
Last week while reading Quora I came across some amazing responses from the users as well as the makers of online education and it tells a lot about the take and experience of people with online education in India. Inspired, touching upon various aspects to online education in India, this post will cover the following questions.
How big is the online education industry in India?
What is the future of online education in India?
Which all companies are offering online or learning E-learning for in India?
What are the main factors limiting the growth of online education in India?
Read below to get a better understanding of the Indian edtech market and various aspects to it.
1. State of Online Education In India:
As per a research conducted by KPMG in India and Google on Online Education In India 2021, “Online education industry will be a $1.96 billion industry by 2021.”
The online education segment is set to become a multi-billion dollar opportunity in India. There are many factors driving this growth including the perceived convenience, increased reach and personalization offered by online channels, ”said Nitin Bawankule, Industry Director, Google India.
“It is also interesting to note, that high growth in education search queries is now coming in from Tier 2 and 3 cities such as Patna, Guwahati, Aligarh and Kota – which points to the opportunities that growing penetration of smartphones and improving quality of internet have opened up.” He added.
The current user base for online education industry in India largely consists of school students and working professionals. Some startups are providing standardized offerings in the form of test preparation content and K-12 learning courses. Then there are startups that are offering skill-based education, and finally, the ones that bring on innovative and new models on deck.
Primarily, there are five business models/categories which are growing at a rapid pace in the edtech sector in India taking online education to the next level. These include primary and secondary supplement education, test preparation, reskilling and online certifications, higher education and language, and casual learning.
2. The Future of Online Education In India:
John Uebersax, Director, Californians for Higher Education Reform mentions on Quora that the future of online education in India is “Unlimited”.
He adds, “The key is to make ‘diploma discrimination’ — i.e., where employers require degrees from established colleges — illegal. Employers should base hiring on what a person knows, not how or where they learned it. Compulsory accreditation of universities is part of the problem. This is mainly a scheme whereby established institutions limit competition. One current danger (at least in the US) is that greedy corporations are trying to monopolize the online education market. If they have their way, people will be required to take classes from ‘accredited’ online programs.”
From the research I mentioned above it is stated that, “Online Education in India is expected to grow to USD 1.96 billion over the next 5 years driven by increased consumer adoption supported by macroeconomics changes, improvements in product offerings and changes in business models. The paid user base is expected to increase from 1.6 million users in 2016 to 9.6 million in 2021.”
3. Top Companies Tha are Offering Online Learning E-Learning For In India:
Kalpesh Parmar, a quora user with 7+ years of E-learning experience as Research Analyst mentions, “I find the Designmate 3D e-learning content, the best educational content. Designmate offers convenience and thrill of learning in 3D format, a revolutionary concept that would take away from the monotony and boredom of mugging up textual explanations without much understanding.
The USP of Designmate’s e-content is that it makes difficult concepts easy to understand using impressive graphical diagrams and images. Along with the immersive content of animation videos, the product also offers a vast range of simulation and learning games set in virtual backdrop. Here, the students can perform experiments in virtual labs or play games which eventually reinforces learning.
Good thing is that Designmate has the high tech 3d e-content in the largest quantity with the best quality in the world.”
Genesis Crazmyth, A 19 y/o entrepreneur suggests,” Udacity to learn computer science and programming and to study the subjects other than computers, edX, Coursera, Coursera, Khan Academy, Udemy.”
Find the complete thread and more insights here.
4. Factors Limiting The Growth Of Online Education In India:
Ishan Gupta, Managing Director, Udacity India mentions, “Lack of awareness of the student that online education can be more engaging and effective than distance education has been one of the limiting factors. Having said that, at EduKart we have seen growing enrolments and increased openness of students to pursue formal and non-formal education through online delivery.”
Another education entrepreneur Chaitanya Chitta, mentions that lack of awareness is one major factor limiting the growth of online education in India. He mentions, “Once that’s addressed, proving the outcomes / RoI. Access & affordability are no-longer the culprits.”
On the other hand Aditya Malik, CEO & MD – TALENTEDGE mentions Quality of content, ability to make it interactivity and certification & job linkage to be the reasons.
Check the complete thread here.
It seems that in India the concept of edtech has been not getting the attention it should. There is a dire need that people adapt to the education technology as it can fulfill their learning needs but on the other hand lack of awareness and unavailability of supported infrastructure becomes one major reason for them to be not inclined towards the use of technology in education. And those who are well aware as well as have the proper supported infrastructure are finding it hard to gain the output after opting the online education as their preference.
With so many reasons, both good and bad, the market is going good and there is demand from the audience hence the supply have been taking place. We can definitely expect India to be one major EdTech giant in the coming years but the question remains whether the benefits of the educational technology will be limited to only those who does have an understanding of the potential and benefits of this mix or will efforts be made to make it available to those who cannot only make the most out of it but actually need it.
Make sure you share your insights on the same in the comment section below.
Don’t miss the Keynote Panel on E-Learning in India: Starting Up and Scaling: Challenges & Opportunities at the EdTechReview Summit 2018.
