Next Wave of Edtech in India

 As the Edtech sector scales new heights with each passing year, experts agree that the next wave of Edtech in India is set to redefine the face of education in the country. Recognizing the immense potential vested within Edtech, the government and regulatory bodies have made a strong case for the digitization and modernization of education within the country through the recently launched National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, that categorically focuses on improvement of infrastructure for technologically enabled learning across educational institutions.

Even during a year of peril and trials, the sector has shown phenomenal progress by any metric of measurements. India is already home to two unicorns that provide Edtech services and products globally. Even within the investment space, 2020 saw over 100 unique deals within the sector having a cumulative value of over $1.5 bn in investments. At a macro level, the Edtech space has now become the third highest investment attracting sector in India, outperforming even Ecommerce and Consumer Tech

Top 5 Sector Stack in India

The global Edtech market is a diverse and rapidly growing industry with a large runway across the business lifecycle, from early-stage startups to middle-market companies to publicly traded companies. It continues to garner a lot of attention not only from long-time industry veterans but from generalist investors as well. Across the three main education categories (PreK-12, post-secondary, and corporate training), technology is infused throughout the life of a learner. The leading sub segments within the industry include after school classes, online certifications and higher education, professional skill development, vocational learning etc. that each operate as individual verticals within the sector

A closer look at the key indicators and mainstays of the sector that will propel its growth in the coming years, reveals a promising picture for the learners of the future who stand to benefit from a more engaging and elevated experience, suited to their abilities and time frames while ensuring that learning continuity is maintained and remains self-paced. It is therefore important to mention some of these indicators:

Shifting Focus of the B2B Segment

While the B2B space has existed for a long time, the focus of Edtech players has now shifted towards teachers as opposed to the overall backend management. The B2B Edtech startups and services, which enabled teachers and educational institutions to take their work online, gained momentum as the schools and after-school-classes (tuitions) remained shut. This not only ensured that learning remained uninterrupted but also prepped up traditional institutions for the future of Edtech. The B2B Edtech firms have received total funding of $31 million between 2017-2020. A large portion of the funding is attributable to enterprises that made shifting focus to teaching and learning online possible. Interestingly, companies that facilitated audio and video conferencing also released special, education centric versions of their product that helped teachers manage and deliver classes better indicating that even companies outside the Edtech space want to carve out their standing due to the immense vested potential in the upcoming sector.

Gamification & Emergence of Edutainment

In addition to the life like animations and visual representations of otherwise theoretical content and concepts, Edtech startups also focus on making the activity of learning more engaging and interactive. Gamification has gained immense popularity among Edtech startups — like Toppr,  CueMath, BYJU’S and others — because of substantially improved learning and outcomes. Learning through games and puzzles also makes it easier for students to understand a concept in a more practical way and generate greater interest. Beyond gamification, startups have also started taking steps to make education more interesting with the medium of interactive videos, music and proprietary stories-based curriculum. Parents too have expressed their preference for an interactive approach to learning as they observe their children learn concepts much faster than conventional schooling classes

Golden Days for Coding & Programming

Undoubtedly, one of the talked about verticals within the Edtech space in 2020 was the coding and programming for young children. Claiming to enable logical thinking, problem solving and creative thinking skills in children, the segment is responsible for a large portion of the overall sector momentum. In fact, the situation in India is no different from the global scenario where its overall market is pegged to be worth over $2 billion. Indian coding players such as Whitehat Jr, Toppr etc. have now scaled operations even outside India, and provide personalized one to one classes to aspiring learners over a 2 year period on an average. As more parents warm up to the idea of teaching their kids to code to create better opportunities for their future, dominant players are sure to ride the coding wave for years to come more so with the regulatory mindset changes taking place that postulate coding for all children in schools from grade 6 onwards.

 Upskilling & Professional Development

The pandemic has shown how quickly work itself can change and being upbeat with the latest trends can help minimize the shock. About 122 Mn people lost their jobs as of August 2020, as wounded companies accelerated towards digital transformation. Organizations started making data-driven decisions making more important aspects of their survival, and the impact of Edtech will also be seen beyond schooling into upskilling and reskilling. Since digital jobs were the profiles to grow amidst a slowing market, startups in the space had the impetus to look beyond school education and focus on professional development and lifelong learning aspects – one that offers learners the opportunity to take up relevant and in-demand skills that can shape their careers in the long run. Leading startups in the segment saw a steep rise in their user base (~2.5 times) since the pandemic and the changing consumer mindset is sure to drive demand for the years to come.

So, what more can be expected of the Edtech space?

The big challenge for startups will be bridging intrinsic gaps such as the digital divide, equitable access to the internet, power and hardware such as computers or smartphones, along with addressing the affordability quotient — both of which are lacking at the moment. Given the trends and indicators discussed previously, it can safely be assumed that the following will additionally be the critical changes that can be expected:

•         Greater adoption of learning management systems in schools & colleges
•          Vernacular and local language content will take center stage
•          Assessments & examinations will be digitized through the use of proctoring solutions
•          Teacher focused digital transformation platforms will be designed
•          AI & ML shall drive the design philosophy of upcoming innovative learning models

To sum up, there are about 4,530 active Edtech startups in India but even the number is bound to increase rapidly with the increased interest of both investors and customers. The year 2020 was truly a golden year for Edtech and the same momentum is expected in 2021 and beyond as well and even policies are bound to get more Edtech

The Zero Year Theory - Is it viable?

The current COVID-19 pandemic has hit the education system hard. All the schools and Higher Education Institutions in India have been shut since the first 21-day national lockdown from 25^th March 2020 thus impacting over 253 million school going students and 37.5 million higher education students enrolled across India.

As the Coronavirus cases continue to increase in the country, looking at the current figures, it is inevitable that the coronavirus cases will increase in the coming days and health and safety of children are under question. Under such unprecedented circumstances demand is rising to call A.Y. 2020-21 as ‘Zero Academic Year’

‘Zero Academic Year’ means teaching and learning will happen to the extent possible by using various alternate instruction methods, but there will not be any examinations, grading or promotion to the next class.

A online survey conducted by Local Circles group with 25,000 respondents in India, found that a two third of respondents did not support reopening of schools on September 1 and were worried about the chances of infection to children and elders in the home.

International precedent also indicates that cases spread through schools, with the American Academy of Pediatrics reporting that almost one lakh children tested positive in the last two weeks of July, just as some schools began reopening classes.

Current Scenario of India’s school children:

Current educational situation of students varies widely, depending on age, location and socioeconomic status. Private schools have already gone online with teachers attempting to maintain a regular schedule. For Govt. schools, authorities have brought out an educational calendar with lesson plans and learning activities, and are also beaming classes through dedicated television channels in multiple languages, especially for older children. Government has also issued screen time guideline for pre-primary to Class 12^th students. Given that this kind of distance education requires digital access and/or self-motivation and parental involvement, the vast majority of children in government schools have spent the last three months on an extended summer holiday.

Challenges in reopening of schools in India

• No clear road map or timeline for school re-opening

• No clear health protocol for maintaining Health and safety measures while reopening schools

• Covering full academic curriculum lost due to school closures in remaining instructional days in academic year 2020-2021

• Un-equal Access to online and remote learning: only 24% of families have internet facilities in urban area which drop to 15% in rural areas.

Is Zero Year Theory, way ahead?

Although the adoption of blended learning (online + class) for curriculum content delivery is key to ensure the continuity of education following the physical closure of schools, children on an average, likely to experience a learning loss during this COVID affected academic year.

Online schooling requires a change in both the quantity and quality of the teaching capacity & revision in the curriculum,Students spend less time in online learning compared to in-school learning time Younger children may have problems in adapting to this model especially for the online learning sectionThe structure of many existing school buildings may not be appropriate if one wants to maintain physical distancing.

Hence looking at challenges in reopening schools and content delivery mechanisms many activists, teachers associations, parent associations in Delhi, Karnataka, Telangana and Tamil Nadu have demanded to declare AY 2020 – 21 as Zero Academic Year.

Is there any academic loss when curriculum is reduced?

COVID-19 and blended mode of learning in schools may not affect students equally. Students from less advantaged backgrounds can experience more significant learning loss during this emergency period than their more advantaged counterparts. This may be due to differences in financial & non-financial parental support, digital access & students’ digital skills.

Loss reflected in reduction in test score students would be experiencing because of less time spent in learning compared to the amount of time they typically invest when they are in school, stressed environment because of changed delivery mechanism and lack of learning motivation

In broader perspective academic loss will translate into a reduction of available human capital, with negative effects on future productivity, innovation and employment including future lower earnings for the student cohorts directly affected by the lockdown

On the other hand declaring A.Y. 2020-21 a Zero Academic Year will ensure:

• Reduced stress level of blended learning in students.

• No Academic loss and in terms of curriculum and skills learnt

• Safety of children from schools with inadequate infrastructure where social distancing might not be followed

• It will also provide time to governments and schools to ensure teacher training on health & safety of students, digital access to all students, developing new pedagogies in blended learning and developing school infrastructure with better hygiene and health safety measures.

Health is Wealth and life has more value than anything else, thus it is more important to value children’s life and health over all other parameters. Protecting children from this dangerous pandemic is critical. Hence it will not be in common good to reopen schools in riskier environment. Zero Year Theory needs to be followed to mitigate academic loss of students if more than 33% curriculum reduction is needed to be able to reopen schools.

Enabling education for the masses through adoption of Ed-tech

The Indian education system is currently suffering from serious lacunae of teacher centered traditional schooling also known as ‘Factory model’ where in children are referred as products and where kids are treated as part of an assembly line, learning essentially the same things at an ‘average’ pace of the class without much personalization. This ‘Factory Model’ exists because it's the most economical or sustainable way to educate a large number of kids together with limited resources.

On the 2018 Legatum Prosperity Index, an annual study which evaluates 149 countries on several factors, India stands at the 104th spot in education. In India, the percentage of Class II students who could not read a single word of a short text or perform a two-digit subtraction is higher than in Uganda or Ghana. These facts indicates that India children at large scale lack in access to quality Education, educational resources and opportunities to learn beyond schooling.

Major Challenges in Education System in India

• Lack of Infrastructure: Shortage of schools and classrooms with basic amenities like electricity, drinking water and toilets

• Unavailability of quality teachers: Teachers are less qualified, lack professionalism and grappled with absent-ism

• Shortage of quality study material: Shortage of study material leads to disinterest among students

• Language issues: With 1500+ languages available, it is difficult to teach students in their respective languages with limited or no regional language content available 

Technology in Education (Ed-Tech) for large scale adoption

There is urgent need to implement technology enabled solutions and services that can redefine how education is imparted to students in lower strata of society in efficient format at all levels of education.

India is at the cusp of experiencing the growth curve in Ed-Tech & online learning the way the US or China had in the recent past. The current COVID-19 crisis has made use of Ed-tech more pertinent than ever.

 I. Going Digital:

 In online education, content delivery consists of text, audio and video to teach and elaborate on classroom subjects with experienced teachers. Thus fills-in knowledge gaps when teachers are absent or less educated with certain materials. These materials are also more streamlined, making topics easier to understand for a multitude of students. Video lessons make classes more consistent in all schools, eliminating the variation of teaching materials around the country and allowing student at large scale to learn in self-paced manner.

II. Specialized and Individual Learning through Massive Open Online Courses

Traditional schooling system is proven to be less effective at aiding students individually to learn core concepts; through the implementation of MOOC’s, schools will be better able to cater to students’ needs and adapt specific programs to better suit individual learning styles and educational requirement.

III. TV channel-based learning

Poor internet access in rural population is major challenge; with only 15% of families have internet facilities in rural areas. Thus making implementing online education difficult, hence makeshift technology uses such as TV channel based learning in regional languages in particular time slots. This can be crucial in providing instant access to learning content without onboarding.

IV. Open Schooling

Ed-tech can help in strengthening open schooling initiatives such as National Institute of Open Schooling with further to help curtailing School drop-out rates in senior secondary and higher education by creating Open Educational Resources (OER) across streams and allowing studnets to choose multiple subject of choice.

V. Resource-centric social network for educators

Rural area teachers have to be made at par in quality with their counterparts in urban areas, this is possible by developing Resource-centric social network for educators where teachers can interact and seamlessly share educational resources across states and country.

While a number of states in India have initiated Ed-Tech enabled programs to improve education levels, we believe Ed-tech start-ups companies would require extensive partnership with authorities to bring more technology into Indian classrooms for addressing current challenges.

Government should work towards providing digital access such as tablets, SD-Cards, Desktop computers and projectors to lower strata of society making Ed-tech educational programs more accessible to the multitudes. Many state-run schools have some access to these resources and Government needs to make consistent efforts towards providing EdTech for students in all regions.

Teaching Online – The pedagogical shift all teachers must embrace.

The modern educator, in its true sense defines a skill that has come off age. Imparting education has become more an act of teaching the way learners want to learn rather than following a mechanical and archaic process. The approach to teaching or pedagogy has evolved into a more child centric, result oriented and skill driven. Educators in schools and other educational institutions are united on the idea of revamping the traditional approach to teaching and discovering modern and efficient ways of connecting with the students.

Teaching in today’s schools requires educators to be more welcoming of the use of technology beyond the basics. As educational institutions today, have gradually started to offer job-oriented learning, there is absolutely no doubt technology would be an essential enabler in the process. With the increasing demand for students in the country, there is a natural push towards shifting teaching and learning online in a manner that is both effective and innovative. It is a well-known fact that learners today can associate better with video lessons rather than text books. In fact, technologies can enable standard text book material to come to life thereby establishing an engaging contact with the learner.

What does teaching online entail?

Educators that can leverage technology today, can ensure that student learning continues with minimal hindrances. Contrary to popular belief, teaching online is simple, efficient and easy to learn. It takes a small amount of willingness to adapt to the teaching environment and get acquainted with the tools and platforms. Most of online teaching is extremely similar to classroom teaching. Teachers can do everything over learning platforms such as design curriculum, conduct assessments, allocate assignments and design progress reports for their students. Infrastructural requirements are fairly limited as all that is needed is a computer with a stable internet connection.

Why should educational institutions push for online teaching?

When employed efficiently, online teaching offers a load of benefits that enable education in a way that has never been possible before. The most noteworthy of these benefits being:

• Online teaching renders geographies pointless. Since teaching online is managed by a system over the web, students can log in from their respective residences and do not need to travel to school to attend sessions. This opens the playing field to students beyond the immediate vicinity of the school’s location.

• Online teaching makes asynchronous teaching possible. Present day teachers find it difficult to ensure that every student has understood a course or lesson. The commitment to provide individual attention to each student therefore remains unfulfilled. However, online teaching enables students to schedule one to one session with their teachers and allows teachers to do exactly the same, thereby ensuring that student queries are timely addressed and their learning continues.

• Online teaching makes it easier to monitor student progress. Since learning platforms today offer the possibilities of associating learning outcomes with lesson plans, teachers are able to monitor in real time, which students are lagging behind and require personal attention. Analytical summaries are a great way for teachers to ensure that all their students excel academically.

• Online teaching helps make monotonous lessons more engaging. Traditional teachers often struggle with certain topics that do not inspire student attention and focus as the rest. Subjects such as history, sociology etc. can be made more interesting with the use of videos, slides and other support material that are otherwise absent from a traditional classroom.

The prospect of hundreds of thousands of professors and students venturing into academic cyberspace for the first time has prompted some commentators to take to social media to predict that this period could alter the landscape future for online education. "Every academician shall be delivering education online. Every student shall be receiving education online. And the resistance to online education will move away as a practical matter," James N. Bradley, chief information officer at Texas's Trinity University, wrote in a LinkedIn post.

Online teaching has off late become the face for the educational industry at large. As a consequence, to the pandemic, schools across the world have shifted curriculum online and are enabling teachers to conduct live lesson delivery using video conferencing and education management software. Teachers are able to conduct sessions, address doubts and deliver high quality education across the globe. This is an exciting opportunity for the uninitiated to be exposed to the many benefits of online learning and understand its importance for the future.

History & Trends of Online Learning & Screen Time

Online learning for young children in schools is an area that has received widespread acceptance and fair share of criticism. A close examination of facts, best practices and expert views reveals that online learning for all age groups is here to stay. Online learning is the only strategy that schools possess to ensure continuity in learning and personalized learning journey for each student. There is worldwide acceptance of the benefits of the online learning that further the cause of quality education however, the limitations of online learning must also be recognized. 

School educators, policy makers and regulators must focus on staying the course even under the pressure of outbreaks. Keeping student interests in mind, schools must ensure that learning continuity is maintained until full operations are resumed. Online learning techniques today have evolved substantially and can be channelized to assist with the student’s cognitive development as it is clear that learning consistency, routine and developmental learning window are important factors for children of young ages. In fact, leading schools across the world have employed the latest in online learning and designed systems that address the obvious reservations related to virtual environments and target even the social and emotional learning of their students.

Leading medical and child welfare organizations have now assumed a more supportive position of the idea of online learning. Organization such as WHO, UNESCO and IIEP have come out with new guidelines that provide an extensive framework on how to employ online learning techniques in an ethical and productive manner. The push for online education from local and global governments is substantial and is a clear indicator of the renewed understanding amongst leaders and reformers of the countries. It is clear that the common understanding now is that online learning can yield credible results provided it is administered and monitored in the right way with the help of systemic safeguards. 

Concerns around screen time have now been deliberated upon enough to prove that the quality screen time must be encouraged. While it is widely agreed that children must be allowed to engage in physical activities, it is also possible to ensure that young children do so with the help of online coaches or embedded bursts of free time. All stakeholders must approach the screen time issue from an objective viewpoint and differentiate active and passive screen usage. Experts have clearly mentioned that it is the passive, mindless and mechanical use of screen time on activities such as aimless social media browsing, binge watching and excessive gaming that inflict much more damage on young, developing minds than productive and cognitive activities such as investigative and experiential learning. Hence, rules, regulations or guidelines must consider the ‘good or bad screen usage time’ rather than ‘good or bad screen time’. 

Schools must now be more ready than ever to leverage online learning and ensure that students continue to grow and develop as they ought to. With no end to the pandemic in sight, online learning is the only way to render education to children of all ages. If the policy makers, regulators and schools can collaborate to share best practices and learn from each other around the globe, they can efficiently and swiftly cover the lost ground and provide high quality education to all students.

Eduvisors partnered with FICCI ARISE to develop a report containing insights with specific reference to systemic safeguards for all schools to consider: Available here.