Deepshikha Kumar, Founder, SpeakIn
The growing Ed-tech sector
India’s Ed-tech sector has witnessed exponential growth in recent years due to technological advancement. Technology has transformed learning and has improved educational offerings drastically resulting in the growth of the online learning sector. This high rate of adoption has proven to be a boon for startups and digital products and services, and has given rise to personalized and self-paced learning. This has ensured home learning and distance learning to be much more effective and has given rise to the concept of online courses.
Role of Technology
Technology has shifted the mode of instruction online. Today, tech-based learning modules are resulting in active student participation. Moreover, the availability of economical smart devices has made education less expensive and easily accessible. As technology continues to provide its offerings in the sector, it is simultaneously also enabling a movement towards technical literacy of the country.
Sectoral Growth due to pandemic
According to startup data research firm Tracxn, seven ed-tech companies were acquired in the first six months of 2020, which is higher than the four buyouts that happened during the same period last year. The ed-tech sector has seen massive demand due to the coronavirus pandemic. The lockdown essentially “forced” schools, colleges, and educational institutes online resulting in the overall growth of the sector. There has also been a notable increase in the time spent on ed-tech platforms and people have become more open to a paid user base to have access to quality content. The online education sector is expected to increase in the near future and touch $3.5 billion by 2022 which will create opportunities for new players in the e-learning space.
How Ed-tech can help in upskilling
In the current situation, several professionals have been impacted and the requirement for upskilling is highly visible. The lockdown has also spurred growth in the B2B space where not just the schools and colleges, but also the organizations are aggressively adopting tech-based solutions. Ed-tech players can play an important role in ensuring job security by making professional knowledge more accessible and facilitating upskilling of working professionals. Ed-tech for upskilling corporates and industries in several genres can make India’s workforce more competitive and advanced.
Importance of vernacular content
Currently, Ed-tech is facing challenges in lower grades and in Tier II cities where the business is conducted mostly in local languages. To enable wider reach and accessibility for varied customers, ed-tech players need to expand their user base to customers who are more comfortable in their native language. Hence, there is a strong requirement for digital education in vernacular languages. This will not only ensure the expansion of digital learning to industrial workers and lower income groups, but also impact the organization’s overall profitability.
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