Learning has no boundaries and Covid-19 has proven that. The rising uncertainty in the education sector due to continued lockdown has forced parents and education authorities to look for alternatives. In a recent study, a top Education Technology (EdTech) firm found that 61 percent of families have opted for e-learning in India. Another report suggests that a whopping 76 per cent of analytics professionals are using online platforms to reskill themselves.
Covid-19 has just accelerated the need for reskilling. Majority of the workforce in India will need to upskill in order to meet the demands of future talent requirements, and Edtech will play a key role in this transformation. EdTech firms are now focused on offering more personalised and curated content with deep tech integration for better assessments. Also, there has been a rise in adoption of DIY kits, and subscriptions offering 3D virtual tours, now that students are at a loss of activity due to school closures.
Here are a few areas where EdTech companies are providing efficient solutions to meet educational needs and the expectations of both students and parents respectively.
Online learning
A recent KPMG report projected that the growth of the online education market in India will reach USD 1.96 billion in 2021. E-learning amenities such as virtual classes, animation-based lessons, and immersive content can transform how students learn. Several edtech firms offer a wide array of options to facilitate e-learning. Platforms such as Active App and Quikik offer interactive tools for a seamless learning experience to students and teachers.
In addition, Microsoft, Zoom, Google Meet, etc have offered both educational institutions and students a platform to continue learning despite school shutdown. These tools work well in India’s low internet infrastructure scenario. This has also benefitted students in the hinterland.
Read also: A Brief View of Tourism & Travels Course
Personalised learning
The lack of personalisation in the classroom is catered to in the online domain and technology will be at the core of this shift. The edtech firms at present are adopting solutions like flexible hours, learning at their own pace, community-driven problem-solving approach and more. It is expected that by 2024, upwards of 47 per cent of learning management tools will be enabled by Artificial Intelligence (AI) capabilities.
Better assessment for effective learning
Deeptech capabilities comprising AI, Machine Learning (ML) and data analytics are helping EdTech companies offer a better assessment to students in K-12 as well as in the preparation of higher education entrance exams. During the lockdown, many of these edtech businesses and startups have claimed a high percentage of new enrolments as well as an increase in paid user base.
Short term skill-based courses
Covid-19 scenario has led to a dynamic corporate landscape resulting in pay cuts and job losses. Continuous layoffs have created a dire need for upskilling for working professionals and broadening the skill-set amongst students to be future-ready, who are now opting for online courses. Students and professionals can upskill themselves and accelerate their career with short courses, which will not only help them retain their current jobs, but also add value.
And, with the Indian government promoting the ‘Make in India’ and ‘Skill India’ programs at full scale, the edtech platforms offering skill-based courses which are gradually becoming part of the mainstream education. For example, Pearson Professional Programs aid learners with courses in Entrepreneurship, Business Management, Data Science, Supply Chain Management, Cybersecurity and Ethical Hacking amongst others, to enhance their skills.
Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) Model
Another solution to enhance education and its delivery is public-private partnerships. The private sector and the Government bring complementary resources. The government has access to vast resources of land and buildings whereas the private sector has the capabilities of execution. These partnerships increase access to schools, improve education quality, use underutilised school infrastructure and eliminate inefficiency and rigidity from public systems.
Apart from these, the PPP model also increases autonomy and extends operations and support to existing institutions. Therefore, such partnerships create a better future for the country by providing seamless education facilities.
Conclusion
We are now looking at a world where nothing will be the same as before. In education, online platforms were once seen as a supplement to traditional education infrastructure. However, in the post-COVID-19 era, ed-tech platforms will be more mainstream. This is already changing the way education content is created, consumed and implemented in the country.
The bets are already placed on creating a future-ready workforce, deeply immersed and conversant in new-age technology. A 2018 Forbes article rightly mentioned, AI will replace tasks and not jobs. The future is uncertain and the only way to cope up with this uncertainty is continuous learning, reskilling and upskilling. And like Alibaba founder Jack Ma said in a World Economic Forum conference,”Only by changing education can our children compete with machines.”
Article by Ramananda SG, Vice President – Sales & Marketing at Pearson India
Courtesy: India Today
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn