Vamsi Krishna, Co-Founder & CEO of Vedantu:
“The COVID-induced gap in learning needs to be addressed on priority and EdTech platforms should continue to ensure that students receive uninterrupted learning in such challenging times. By providing students easy access to quality learning, this year’s budget lays a clear emphasis to reduce the gap between students in remote areas and education. Initiatives such as the ‘One Class One TV Channel’ and the E-Vidya scheme is a welcome move that will drive impact at scale and bridge the language divide amongst students from small-town India. We believe that this budget rightly aligns with our vision of democratizing education by providing students access to high-quality learning, improving learning outcomes and thereby contributing to a vibrant knowledge economy.”
Nithya Prabu, Founder, Lurnable, UK:
“The buzzword for Indian Education Budget 2022 is ‘Digital’. Right from the promise to establish a digital university in collaboration with the best Indian institutions to empowering teachers through its intention to expand digital content and focusing on offering digital skilling to students through virtual labs, e-labs and DESH STACK e-portal along with the expansion of PM eVIDYA channels, the current Indian education budget gives us hope for better learning prospects in the country. Access to quality education, training and skilling opportunities across all student sectors can be made possible through digitization, a truly welcome move to democratize educational offerings in India.”
Mihir Gupta, Co-founder & CEO, Teachmint:
“Given the level of disruption the education ecosystem has seen over the past couple of years, it is safe to say that the Education Budget 2022 was one of the most eagerly awaited. And it is heartening to see that there is a significant provision for education in the budget and a strong focus on empowering teachers through digitization. From the expansion of PM E-Vidya to 200 channels to the setting up a digital university, the initiatives indicate that the government has put the spotlight on digitization to boost the penetration and access to education across Bharat.
The need of the hour to make this vision a reality is by integrating a mobile-first, teacher-led education infrastructure, which can take digitization to the masses. Focusing on mobile will boost the reach significantly as India’s smartphone base is estimated to cross 83 crores in 2022, with rural India seeing the fastest growth. 97% of all internet users in India also access the internet via mobile devices, offering a massive opportunity for education to be delivered seamlessly to students and teachers across Bharat. Putting teachers at the center is the key, as the budget rightly identifies, to not just reach more students but to also deliver relevant and high-quality content in regional languages.
Timely and dependable tech enablement and integration hold the key. Exploring public-private partnership (PPP) models could significantly expedite the growth, penetration and impact of the government’s vision and ensure that no child gets impacted by the loss of formal education here onwards. All in all, at Teachmint we believe that the innovation we are developing and delivering to boost the teaching infrastructure across the country is completely aligned with the government’s vision of education progress, and we look forward to doing our bit in digitizing and strengthening the ecosystem.”
Prof Sandeep Sancheti, Provost (Vice-Chancellor), Marwadi University:
“Focused on high growth, the 2022 budget is both balanced and bold. Compared to the previous year, it has enhanced the education budget by 12% making a clear policy intent focusing on the growth of education. However on-ground implementation will continue to be a challenge requiring deeper collaboration between industry, academia, and the private sector. The budget impetus on up-skilling individuals to fill the existing skills gap, virtual labs to promote vocal training and simulated learning environment, and facilitating R&D to boost indigenous technologies, especially in the defense sector is a welcome and progressive step. Launching a Digital University and expanding the PM E Vidya initiative to 200 channels will aid in bridging the learning divide and improving learning outcomes. While international universities will be allowed to offer courses, partnerships between Indian HEIs should also be promoted for better execution.”
Aayur Kaul, Market Head, Skillshare India – an online learning community for creativity:
“The focus on online learning in the Union budget 2022-23 will propel growth in India’s EdTech industry. The pandemic changed the atmosphere of learning in India, with most classes being conducted online. The focus on online learning is a step towards democratizing learning in India. Skill-based online learning took the center stage in this year’s budget, highlighting the importance of vocational and creative classes that online learning enables. The announcement to launch a Digital University and dedicated online videos, quality online content will see a higher demand, creating a positive environment for online learning companies to grow in India. Skillshare being an online learning community for creatively-inclined people, we welcome the focus on EdTech in the budget.”
