India looks at EdTech industry boom by 2021

Kolkata: With every aspect of our lives being dominated by computers and online channels,

education

has slowly shifted to the digital domain. Enter

EdTech

(education

technology

) industry, which is making inroads into schools, classrooms and even our homes.

Gurgaon and Delhi-based institutions, Wonderland and Early Learning Village, have inculcated technology into the education of children aged between 18 months and two years. Speaking on the debate of introducing apps and screens to kids, the institutes’ founder Pradeep Jolly says, “Management of technology in an age-appropriate and time-bound manner is important.”

According to former CBSE chairman Ashok Ganguly, “The one-size-fits-all-theory doesn’t work any more. We must ensure proper use of technology at every level of education.” According to a 2016 KPMG report, the EdTech industry in India was worth about $247million and could reach $1.96 billion by 2021. The scope of EdTech is not just limited to collating study materials anymore. It has been shaped into a gruelling, career-shaping tool.

Founder of Mumbai-based WhizJuniors, a social gamified tech-learning platform, Vidushi Daga says, “EdTech has given the learner more interactive platform for learning and assessment. Though India is at a nascent stage compared to its global peers, it is growing at a substantial rate of 55%, with over 200 million devices connected to the internet.”

WhizJuniors, which is associated with 1,517 schools, has invested around $500,000 in a little over three years and plans to raise $10 million soon. The company works with over 1.5 lakh students from classes I-XII and plans to rake in over $25 million revenue in four years.

Kolkata-based Notebook, where the former CBSE chairman is a senior advisor, offers multimedia content in story format. Notebook founder Achin Bhattacharyya says, “The vernacular medium is under-represented. We want to work in this area so that EdTech reaches every corner of the country. Our content is also curated to suit the needs of children with disabilities.”

Notebook co-founder Subhayu Roy says, “We are also working with Indian Principals’ Network that is associated to over 2,000 schools.”

Over the past few years, EdTech has extended its scope past

school

and college curriculums. Lucknow-based EduGorilla, which offers free digitalized course content on competitive exams like CAT, UPSC, CA and IIT, has managed to capture about Rs 17,336 crore ($2.4 billion), of the EdTech market in India. Its CEO Rohit Manglik says, “The burgeoning EdTech firms have devised new methods to make learning interactive and provide customized learning solutions. Live and interactive modules, online worksheets and tests that can be accessed from any corner of the world are the amazing advantages.”

Another firm, Singapore-based Little More Innovations (LMI) aims to revolutionize the way exams are conducted. “We conduct descriptive examinations on our dedicated tablet-like devices delivered over a secure ecosystem,” says LMI India president Biju Zachariah,

“This is the only company that provides 100% secured networks and devices to conduct descriptive exams. So far we have delivered 1.5 million exams, comprising 20 million pages without any data loss.”


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