Indian Education System: Ed-Tech on the rise

Over the last few years, Ed-tech startups have proved to be a real game-changer in the rather nascent education market. Deemed as ‘innovation centres’, these startups have spurred an economic and social revolution in the country, establishing ed-tech as one of its most capital intensive sectors.

With advertisements running on media channels, a significant market interest as well as implications on the ground, these startups have successfully brought the nation on forefront of technology and innovation. Cue the television ads of BYJUs or even the coverage of several ed-tech startups gamifying the learning industry – education seems to get newer players in the arena.

Sector-wise, the ed-tech segment witnessed massive growth with a number of promising startups coming into the picture. Year 2012 saw the emergence of about 2,400 ed-tech startups in the country. An increasing number of students flocking to these startups brought a lot of attention from the foreign investors as well.

In a recent foray into the Indian education market, Ebix a USA-based $2.5 billion corporation, announced its 11th acquisition, that too within a few months. The acquisition albeit in its initial phases has created a lot of buzz around India’s education market.  The interest however might be well placed. Currently, the sector continues to garner and retain investor’s interest, so much so that India’s ed-tech market is estimated to hit $1.96 billion by 2021.

With a number of startups in the sector has India experiencing an ed-tech moshpit with funds, founders and ventures charting their way to the proverbial golden egg. In the current situation, BYJUs does have a grip on the Indian market – with clever marketing, a backing by the Chan-Zuckerberg foundation and the interest of students.

However, startups making their way into the industry have had an impetus of early players. Educomp Solutions by Shantanu Prakash and Everonn education by P Kishore were among the first ventures in education.

Back in 1990s when Shantanu Prakash launched Educomp Smart Classes – the first ed-tech startup, the Indian education industry was rather rigid in the acceptance of new technologies and learning methodologies. However, the graph post-Educomp has been in the favour of new tech, and radical ways of teaching – where students are keener to adopt new methods, thus giving an impetus for schools to invest in these technologies.

Trailblazing the concept of smart learning, the early moving startups like Educomp Solutions, Meritnation, Intellipath, paved the way for a number of other startups, giving a whole new dimension to the country’s education sector. Relatively new players like Simplilearn, Learn Next and iDiscoveri Education have further contributed to a great extent. The influx and rise of these ed-tech companies brought back ‘meaningful learning’ into education.

Eventually, the advanced technological developments and innovation learning approach of these ed-tech startups proved to be an effective alternative to the conventional system of education. It resulted in the evolution of conventional classroom setup into a self-driven learning process. Students now have easy access to technology-enhanced learning via interactive videos, textbooks and customised learning modules.

Driving extensive growth, these ed-tech startups widened the horizons of India’s education system to a great extent. They have entailed a large-scale progression in the way education is imparted.