India's EdTech Industry and UGC reforms: A 30 billion Dollar Opportunity

India's EdTech Industry and UGC reforms: A 30 billion Dollar Opportunity

Last Updated Mar - 17 - 2022, 12:45 AM | Source : | Visitors : 31

Edtech companies will soon collaborate with higher education institutes to deliver online undergraduate and postgraduate programs. This initiative will assist in creating course content and assessing students under a set of comprehensive reforms prepared by the University Grants Commission (UGC).
UGC chairperson M Jagadesh Kumar said that "the suggested revisions seek to promote more flexibility for colleges and universities and harness the technical means available in the fast-growing ed-tech sector".
"The changes in the 2020 UGC-Open and Distance Learning Programs and Online Program regulations, institutes offering online UG and PG programs will be allowed to partner with ed-tech platforms to develop course content and financial regulations," said Dr Jagadesh. The amended draft regulations will be put in the public domain for recommendations and feedback in the first week of March. 
Institutes that are allowed to collaborate with Ed-Tech Firms
•    Autonomous colleges were among the top 100 rank holders in NIRF (National Institute Ranking Framework) twice in the last three academic years or have NAAC grading of a minimum of 3.26 will be under ease.
•    Presently, only universities and affiliated colleges that fulfil these standards can deliver online degrees.
•    Currently, Fifty-nine universities offer 120 UG, 29 PG, and two PG diploma degrees online. Fifteen per cent are science courses, fifty per cent are related to business administration, and thirty-five per cent are humanities.
India's EdTech Industry: A 30 Billion Dollar Opportunity
As e-learning grows more prevalent, its scope is broadening globally due to pandemic ushered constraints. As a result, statistics say India's education technology (Edtech) sector will become a 30 billion dollar industry over the next decade.
The reason for this exponential growth are as follows:

1.    The New Education Policy, 2020, has also boosted the Edtech sector by identifying the role of technology in education.
2.    India's income inelasticity of education implies that Indians are more willing to spend on education at any income level. 
3.    Further, a National Sample Survey (NSS) on Household Social Consumption states that there had been a 26 per cent increase in expenditure on education between 2014 to 2018.
4.    Industry accounts indicate that the total revenue of Indian Edtech startups has doubled since 2018 and is to multiply further in the next decade. 
5.    There is an exponential upgrade in the number of paid Edtech users is projected by KPMG to reach 37 million by 2025
6.    According to Statista's estimates, the current market valuation of the Indian Edtech industry is US$2.8 billion and is to reach up to 10.4 billion US Dollars by 2025. 
7.    Currently, there are 9,043 EdTech startups in India. This trend is to increase by factors like India's burgeoning internet economy. 
8.    As of March 2020, there were 743.19 million internet subscribers in India, and the country is projected to have 1 billion smartphone users by 2026
Advantages of Edtech tools in education:
Post-pandemic, both individuals and stakeholders have realized tech-based education is much more advantageous than conventional education methods. Let us shortly estimate a few of the multiple advantages of Digital learning.
1. First and foremost is the flexibility that allows every learner to understand at their own pace, place, and time. Educators believe that students learn at different speeds and learn best eclectic ways.
2. Educators can focus their energy solely on teaching and making students understand a concept better.
3. It is more effortless for the students to learn complicated concepts using audio/visual means for better understanding.
4. It gives every student an equal opportunity to obtain knowledge despite physical impediments. For example, Screen readers are available for visually challenged students, and speech-to-text is available for students who cannot write or type.
5. It eradicates the geographical borders and permits students to avail themselves of the highest education grade from the top institutes, regardless of their location.
6. It makes it more manageable for working professionals to seek certification to grow their careers as they don't have to commute to upgrade their skills
7. It dramatically reduces the cost of education and makes it affordable for students who belong to financially challenged families. The reduced price of online learning makes receiving a degree or additional professional certification much more inexpensive for anyone curious about developing their knowledge and skills.
8. It solves the limited number of seats available in education institutes. 
9. Online courses in collaboration are accessible to everyone who wants to participate and learn and give them a valuable certification from reputed Universities. 

The pandemic has made it clear that there is a pressing need to spread education across borders, businesses, and all parts of society. There is a definite possibility that ed-tech can help us achieve our goals.

Major Concerns
•    For traditional education institutions, the digital divide is a critical challenge. People in low-income or rural communities lack reliable and affordable internet access.
•    As we continue to move to a virtual-first approach, privacy concerns are top-of-mind for students, teachers, and institutions. In addition to the vast amount of data stored online, the personal data of a student's home is now on display for the entire class and institution. Students and teachers alike also run the risk of security concerns.
•    There is a considerable gap between Ed-Tech firms and institutional teachers as the former focuses on business and later focuses on student learning. 
•    Ed-Tech companies are not transparent with their business, and there are not many regulations that control or regulate how much they charge learners or pay their educators. 
•    Institutions must ensure that educators are well versed in the platforms they are expected to be using. Otherwise, students will be at the mercy of their teacher's technical skills, or lack thereof.

While we analyze all the positives and challenges presented by the upcoming UGC reform, it is to note that the attempt to formalize the involvement of the ed-tech sector in education arrives as the government urges the industry players to conduct their businesses with more transparency.
 

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