How Innovations in Ed-Tech are Disrupting School Education in India

Authored by Mr. Ashish Chaturvedi, Founder, School Diary

Ed-Tech or education technology has seen rapid growth and adoption across the Indian education spectrum. From higher learning and specialised online vocational courses, robotics and multimedia modes of interactive teaching to assisted learning and special app based tutorials etc., the past decade has seen multiple innovations. And the pandemic has further enhanced the spread and accelerated wider adoption of technology for education, across the spectrum! Extended lockdowns and fear of crowded classrooms has pushed parents and schools to look for online education while there has also been a surge in people taking online vocational or hobby classes online. 

As per a report by RedSeer and Omidyar Network India report, the edtech market in India has grown tremendously, almost doubling in size, from 45 million in 2019 to 90 million users in 2020. Further, supported by 2019 NEP that encouraged technology empowered learning to explore beyond ‘chalk and talk’ methods,  the K-12 edtech market is registered to grow to 6 folds, from being a USD 265 MN market size in 2019 to be an estimated USD 1.7 BN by 2022. Additionally, the report also predicts that while a strong growth in K-12 segment is anticipated, the segment for grades 1 – 5 are set to witness the fastest growth. Factors like increased broadband penetration, the rise in regional language internet and the high consumption of smartphones, are also key factors driving this growth.

While the above highlights the growth potential of the segment in terms of market value, the sector as a whole, is set to also see a massive surge in disruptive innovations that will eventually contribute to the increased market value. In terms of the current and emerging roles, these functions can be largely bifurcated into:

1. Competence Building:From leveraging modern tools like robotics and coding etc., several schools are embarking on core competence building exercises to drive building core competencies in children. Attributes like critical thinking, emotional intelligence, creative learning and applying theoretical knowledge into practice by building practical applications, are all examples of successful edtech application. Through robotics and free coding based toys, children and young adults are not only able to expand their boundaries of thinking and practically applying them to create solutions, but are also increasingly aware of modern infrastructure, energy and environment challenges, and are already well equipped to at least, in ideas, generate solutions. 
2. Assisted Digital Learning:Online skill development and coaching for specific subjects can often not be completed only through classroom training. The traditional tuitions or coaching classes are thus now being replaced with assisted learning tools, by both schools as well as private tutors and parents seeking to enhance their child’s performance in a particular subject. These include third party apps that provide in-depth and interactive online training sessions to the use of Multi-media tools, practical experimentation, projects and extra-curricular group activities to encourage understanding based learning, verses superficial, theoretical learning. In the times of a lockdown like these, several schools have also turned to assisted learning tools like a ‘virtual classrooms’ for online learning for children. While generic apps for video conferencing etc., were initially used, several edtech companies have stepped up in the past few months to create customised video solutions to meet the needs of teachers that are taking of the pandemic. 
3. Enhanced Parent Engagement: The multifaceted learning and the vast spectrum of activities designed for children to succeed in the 21^stcentury, have however, added to the woes of parents and teachers  who have become aware of the need to address the overall wellbeing of students. To counter the increasing competitive pressure, especially in the K-12 segment, an increasing number of schools are proactively turning to third party edtech service facilitators to drive ease of parent-teacher communications, transparency, student safety, and keeping a track of mental and emotional wellness of children, through a strong virtual support community. Although emerging, this segment of edtech service providers, are also helping drive efficiency of K-12 educators, enabling them to effortlessly manage, supervise and tend to the learning needs of individual students. For parents, these provide a reliable and transparent platform to remain abreast of the child’s learning progress and overall wellbeing.

In the light of the recently announced NEP 2020, the reforms and the initiatives announced by the government further point towards its ambitious focus on enhanced learning and holistic development of children. Powered by initiatives like the digital India, skill India and the goal to become a successful international economy, edtech is certainly going to play a crucial role in shaping the future citizens, scientists, engineers, doctors, artists and entrepreneurs of the 21^st Century India.