India Education Technology
The education technology sector in India is growing exponentially bringing about a paradigm shift in the teaching and learning process. The changing trend has transformed the dynamics of education from classrooms to smart devices and created the need for virtual classrooms, online learning, video meetings, and online proctoring using tech tools with artificial intelligence. Industry experts attribute the growth in the EduTech industry to the willingness of the educators and teachers to adapt to changes, the involvement and increase in the awareness of parents, and active participation by students. The Covid-19 pandemic situation has further accelerated this growth as virtual learning has become the new ways of learning. To mention, the University Grants Commission (UGC) a regulator that sets standards for institutions of higher education in India, has given approval to increase online learning component for 950 plus Universities during the pandemic. This trend in online learning will continue to grow, and could never be reversed. In the coming years, cohabiting with technology is the only way forward.
The education industry is fueling the growth in virtual learning by implementing the plethora of opportunities offered by technology and innovation in the online space. Not only students, but also employees are focusing on improving and up-skilling as lifelong learning has become an expected and essential job requirement. Moreover, it is expected that learners from tier two and three cities will take advantage of online skilling programs that don’t require travel or relocation to a metro area. The present education system of “one size fits all” is expected to fade away gradually, to be replaced by a more personalized learning experience.
The popularity and growth in the EduTech market has created new demands for various online learning platforms. India is home to the second-highest number of EduTech companies (327), followed by Brazil (275), the United Kingdom (245) and China (101). The increased demand for tech-enabled learning solutions has given rise to EduTech start-ups operating in the country. India has the second-highest number of EduTech start-ups (4450) with Indian EduTech start-up company BYJU leading the way with the highest amount of venture capital raised. The Study Web of Active Learning for Young Aspiring Minds (SWAYAM) platform, a recently-launched Indian platform, offers Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs) to help individual educators and higher education institutions to cater to the online demand.
The EduTech market in India could be categorized into four segments: online education, assessment, smart classes, and offline Education. U.S. companies are encouraged to partner with Indian companies and/or Universities to offer products and technologies for online education in test preparation, re-skilling, online certification, language and casual learning, deep learning techniques, providing cutting edge software and content, and development of MOOCs for open participation via the web. U.S. companies could explore opportunities to provide solutions in artificial intelligence for proctoring, cloud computing, 3D printing, personalized robots, augmented and virtual reality to increase student engagement, biometric, and big data analysis. Companies can also include white boards, learning management systems, and coding skills for smart classes, and tablets, smart phones, and SD cards for offline education.
Another EduTech subsector that is gaining momentum is skill development. Many U.S. companies partner with educational organizations to provide skill development courses to both new and experienced workers on non-digital to digital needs, re-skilling and training on new technologies such as artificial intelligence, block chain, and robotics.
The biggest challenges for U.S. education technology firms in this market are protection of intellectual property, lower pricing, content localization requirements, and the sudden enactment of Equalization Levy (EL) bill by the Government of India on April 1, 2020. Many U.S. firms have created education technology to specific curriculums and to U.S.standards. Adapting their technology to the Indian market could increase costs considerably. Firms are urged to make a careful analysis of consumer/user preferences before entering the market.
U.S. companies are encouraged to participate virtually or in person in the upcoming Trade Event EduTech India, which will be held from Feb 5th to 7th 2021, in Mumbai to identify potential partners.
For further information, please contact Mala.Venkat@trade.gov.