Transforming India Through Ed-Tech: Ronnie Screwvala In India’s BQ

This is a series of articles by leaders on how India can raise its Business Quotient.

Education in India has been waiting for a disruptive package to be delivered for a long time. The sector has finally found its answer in the form of education technology or ed-tech.

One of the most telling signs of the promise that ed-tech holds is the large number and increasing rate of players globally, recognising the potential of this market. Indian players such as UpGrad, Simplilearn, Great Lakes and many others have not stayed far behind and are trying to tap into various segments of it.

The traditional education system has its drawbacks. From requiring more than $100 billion in investment to build sufficient brick and mortar institutions in order to get all those in the higher education age bracket enrolled, to a rigid learning structure and curriculum lacking adaptability and industry relevance or involvement, as well as the access to the most competitive institutions and the opportunity cost involved in going back to campus for a working professional – there are some serious issues that need to be addressed if we are going to rely on the current model to train and educate everyone.

This is why many startups and ed-tech companies have sprung up targeting one of the biggest chunks of the online education industry – reskilling and certifications, test preparation, higher education providers, etc. You would’ve seen multiple advertisements drawing you to upskill as a digital marketer, transition from information technology to big data, or even take up product management instead of that business school degree you were thinking about.

What is the reason behind this trend?

This is changing the way we work and the impact is being felt across industries like IT, manufacturing and other traditional verticals. It’s also giving rise to a new jobs economy such as gig work (Uber, Ola, etc) or freelancing (many websites, design and digital marketing agencies).

The story of layoffs in IT is still surrounding us but as automation takes away jobs, it is also creating new ones and this is the opportunity online education providers are trying to tap into with their reskilling and upskilling programs. Lower costs and low time, the flexibility to learn at one’s own pace, personalisation of course content, industry-relevant and case-study led learning, etc. With initiatives like the UpGrad Online Scholarship, we are also now aiming to evangelise online education through the non-profit route and encourage those with the right motivation and ambition to pursue their dreams while working – and receive financial support.

However, all of us who have set out on this journey, have other battles to fight before online education can achieve what it set out to.

We need to get over our perception issues regarding online education and stop thinking of it as something ‘less serious’ than offline education. Ed-tech providers must also embrace more personalised learning if they want to avoid going down the massive open online course way. Finally, the government needs to invest in expanding internet infrastructure and penetration, along with quality, so that the country can access high-quality education on-the-go.

The recent draft regulations released by the University Grants Commission for online education providers, also show that the online education market will be opening up even more; and from a regulatory perspective too, the category is gaining recognition. The Indian ed-tech industry is predicted to grow to $2 billion by 2021 according to Google-KPMG. Let us not waste this opportunity and unite as an emerging economy to take control of our careers through emerging technologies.

Ronnie Screwvala is Co-founder and Chairman of UpGrad, an online higher education platform.

The views expressed here are those of the author’s and do not necessarily represent the views of BloombergQuint or its editorial team.