Education Technology - Enhancing Learning Outcomes

Quality education forms the bulwark of a progressive and robust society. It not only accelerates growth but also acts as a moat against competing economies. Case in point being India’s engineers that continue to helm the world’s leading technology and software companies. The Indian education system has traversed a long journey from the early days of the gurukul system to virtual classes today. It is now undergoing yet another period of transition, in part precipitated by the COVID-19 pandemic and in part due to the changing needs of a ‘digital’ India. 

Education for all

Paving the path to a better tomorrow for its future generations, India passed the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act (RTE) in 2009. The aim was simple: to ensure 100% school enrolment for children aged 6–14 years. Over the ensuing decade, the proportion of unenrolled children in India dropped to 2.8%, an all-time low. However, challenges continue to persist with respect to post-primary dropout rates, access, affordability, and quality of outcomes. In an attempt to address these challenges, more recently, the National Education Policy (NEP) was unveiled. The policy is based on the pillars of access, equity, quality, affordability, and accountability and is likely to transform Indian into a vibrant knowledge-led ecosystem. It aims to bring about sweeping changes in India’s education system through measures like overhauling the syllabus, introducing subjects like coding at an early age, focusing on vocational skills, and establishing more education institutions. Amongst other things, the NEP recommends the optimal use of technology in education. It envisions leveraging technology to optimally improve education outcomes through app-based learning, online student communications, and lesson delivery beyond ‘chalk and talk’.

Over the last decade, the education industry has borne witness to a lot of new-age startups, established by starry eyed, first-time entrepreneurs and seasoned veterans who want to change how the education system works in India. Leveraging technology, these players have played a vital role in integrating technology deeply within their business models to reach scale and build what has come to be known as the Indian EdTech ecosystem. 

Technology and access to the internet due to the availability of cheap data can catalyse improvements in the kinds and quality of skills imparted in India’s current education system. From that perspective, EdTech can act as a conduit between enrolments and enhanced learning outcomes and ensure that education stays up to speed with changing times and needs. It can bring the required disruption in traditional education systems and reimagine learnings and student journeys in the 21st century. Inevitably, these opportunities have led to a watershed moment for EdTech in India. There is room for incumbent players as well as new EdTech startups to add enhanced value to the education ecosystem in India. 

EdTech in the new decade

Spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic, online courses saw a massive increase in the months following the March 2020 lockdown. Several companies reported strong growth with many witnessing a 100% to 300% increase in engagements or subscribers. With a sudden spurt towards online education, the market size projections for EdTech in India have also seen a substantial increase. By 2022, online education offerings across grades 1 to 12 are projected to increase 6.3 times to create a $ 1.7 billion market, while the Post-K12 market is set to grow 3.7 times to create a $ 1.8 billion market (source). As a testament to the exponential growth potential of EdTechs, startups in the sector received a total investment of $ 2.22 billion in 2020 as compared to $ 553 million in 2019 (source). In order to truly capitalise on the emerging opportunities, EdTech companies cannot afford to move their eyes off the ball. They need to be intuitive and proactively anticipate and cater to emerging needs in India’s education system. In our view, the future will be shaped by the following:

Big Data and Artificial Intelligence (AI): In an era of customised solutions where companies are deeply embedded in their customers’ journeys, why should those receiving education have any different expectations? Every individual has a different learning capacity and rate. Moreover, the outcomes for every individual may also be unique. Hence, EdTechs will need to focus more on customisation rather than offer ‘one size fits all’ courses that are not agile enough to adapt to individual requirements. Big data and AI can play an integral role in helping companies better understand the learner and accordingly curate custom content. 

Gamification: One of the biggest hurdles that the education system needs to overcome is to make education intuitive and relatable. Learning has often been viewed as a somewhat onerous task. However, education technology can significantly transform the learning experience by making it more appealing to learners. Gamification technology can achieve this by way of offering simulated learning, incentive-based learning, and progressive learning (offering levels of advancement and badges). Gamification can help drive user engagement and enhance the learning experience. 

Providing tangible experience through Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality (AR/VR): Some would argue that online education is not tangible, i.e., it lacks the key element of providing in-person experience. EdTech companies can explore AR/VR capabilities that can potentially help them create virtual labs or classrooms designed to provide a more tangible learning experience. 

Cloud computing: Individuals are becoming accustomed to receiving service anytime and anywhere. Further, they have also now grown to expect a seamless experience that is well integrated into their everyday lives. In order to enhance accessibility and improve user experience, EdTechs would need to optimally leverage cloud technology.

In addition to the above technology imperatives, EdTechs will also need to improve their product suite to include a host of learning outcomes, provide content in vernacular languages, and also ensure that the product/service can be afforded by the vast majority of Indians. Meeting the above imperatives would require EdTechs to assess their existing business models and identify areas where technology could be leveraged better to improve user interface and engagement and create customised course offerings.

With over 260 million students, the opportunity to disrupt and make an impact remains large. Forward looking and agile EdTech companies will find themselves in a sweet spot as the prevailing demand (for primary, secondary, and vocational online training) environment coupled with an enabling infrastructure (access to cheap data and mobile devices) landscape can help them leapfrog the growth curve.