Detailed Discussion: What is the Scope for Edtech Startups in India

With constant innovations in the education industry, the Indian edtech market is not far behind and is developing at a rapid speed. As a matter of fact, there have been as much as 900 startups in the past two years, the majority of which are entirely focused on the education sector. It is then no surprise that the Indian education sector is valued at $100 billion and is expecting quite a lot of action, particularly from the edtech industry.

With the continuously evolving nature of internet and technology, more students are gaining access to the virtual world of learning. These virtual classrooms offer an exhaustive list of features that include online and classroom discussions, interactive videos and textbooks, exclusively customised learning modules, and in some cases, even the content from some of the best universities in the world.

When it comes to discussing the scope of edtech startups in India, a lot of questions come to the fore. How accessible is the online education in India? What future does it hold? Which factors complement its growth? In this discussion, we are going to answer some of the questions to derive a scenario of its scope in the Indian education industry:

State of Edtech startups in India

If one looks at the current user base for the Indian edtech startup industry, it primarily consists of school students and working professionals. Some startups have gone a step ahead and are offering test preparation content and K-12 learning courses for school students, while others are offering competitive exam course structures and test series for candidates preparing for JEE, CAT, CLAT, GATE, and UPSC. While these structures are limited to students, working professionals are also benefiting from skill-based education in various disciplines. Irrespective of the kind of audience that they cater to, all kinds of edtech startups have one thing in common, all of them bring innovative and new business models on the deck.

By 2021, it is estimated that online education will be a $1.96 billion industry, as per a research conducted by KPMG and Google on the scope of online education in India. This estimate has been made while keeping in mind the the opportunities that the continuously improving quality of internet has opened up. The edtech sector is taking online education to the next level in India and is thus growing at a rapid pace, chiefly in these five categories: primary and secondary education, reskilling and online certifications, test preparation, higher education, and language.

Opportunities and Growth

Big data and analytics paving the way for Edtech startups

The revolution that edtech startups have brought on in the Indian education sector has been driven by many critical factors, the most dominant of which are big data and analytics. Needless to say, all the buzz around big data holds definite ground. Big data and analytics have not only changed the way education is looked at, but it has also paved the way for more productive student-teacher relationships. For instance, some edtech startups leverage data analytics to assess the teachers’ abilities better and thus helps them impart better guidance to their students.

Future of Edtech startups

The advancement of edtech startups in India is still relatively new but is gaining momentum with the ease with which consumers can access online content. While being primarily concentrated in tier 1 cities where people are better aware of the benefits that online education has to offer, it is safe to assume that the popularity of edtech startups will eventually spread into tier 2 and tier 3 cities as well in the next few years. A promised customer-base will be in the form of young students and professionals looking for course material for the preparation of competitive exams like CAT, JEE, CLAT, UPSC, etc. Conventional education systems are making a significant shift from the traditional chalk-and-board method of teaching and are taking baby steps towards online education. The comfort, convenience, and efficiency that is offered by edtech startups are being embraced by students and teachers alike. Judging by the rate at which technological and structural innovations in the edtech field are coming forward in the form of virtual classroom learning and what not, the edtech startups have a lot to explore in a market that is eager to consume what it has to offer.

The advent of edtech startups and the plethora of online learning courses that it has to offer has opened up doors to education at a more accessible level to people from all walks of life. A lot of consumers are readily welcoming the flexibility that online education has to offer. In the face of tight schedules and botched up timelines, online education provides consumers with an efficient method of catching up with their courses. It is, therefore, safe to say that edtech startups have complemented the Indian education sector and, therefore, is here to stay.