The conflation of technology and education is meant to improve accessibility and make learning a more immersive experience for students. The widespread availability of affordable smartphones and high internet penetration made India a viable market for the expansion of the EdTech industry. However, the real-world applicability of EdTech was rigorously tested by the pandemic. While EdTech tools were primarily being used in urban areas within India until a few years ago, during the pandemic, remote learning has become the norm across the board, even as teachers, parents and students have struggled to adjust to the realities of the virtual classroom.
In March 2020, as institutes, teachers and students switched to online learning models almost overnight, they were forced to navigate this difficult transition by adopting EdTech tools and products. This triggered an expansion within the EdTech landscape, which led to more options in terms of administrative, instructional and pedagogical tools for remote learning. It also increased digital literacy, as well as the consumption of tools for self-learning, automated grading, online class management, customised learning, and student engagement. EdTech companies provide services for school education, higher education, competitive exam preparation, skill education, non-academic learning, and more—which encompass a wide consumer demographic. Their growth has also been accelerated by governments at the state and union level promoting the integration of technology in the delivery of education.
As per IBEF data, India is home to roughly 500 million students aged 5-24 years. The National Education Policy has stressed upon the importance of e-learning, which is backed by government initiatives like SWAYAM, PM e-Vidya, and Diksha. As per a KPMG report, paid EdTech users in India grew from 1.6 million in 2016 to roughly 9.6 million in 2021. The internet user base in India grew by more than 530 million between 2015 and 2021, and as per the Economic Survey 2022, India’s average monthly internet data usage rose from 1.24 GB in 2018 to 14.1 GB as of June 2021. These factors provided fertile ground for EdTech adoption and expansion.
Before the pandemic, the National Education Policy, the prevalence of smart classrooms, remote learning, and up-skilling had already transformed the EdTech market, but it was still among the lowest-funded sectors within India. The pandemic also accelerated a massive shift in the sector and lay to rest the prevalent apprehensions about the potential of EdTech companies to scale up, thus increasing faith among investors. This exponential growth has increased competition among established players as well as emerging startups and, according to the NITI Aayog, set the stage for India to become the Edtech capital of the world. The government’s role in this scenario is to facilitate the progress of private sector players and provide an ideal environment for startups in the sector to flourish.
Between January 2020 and August 2021, three Indian EdTech startups—Eruditus, upGrad, and Vedantu—transitioned to the unicorn stage, while BYJU’S—the most valuable EdTech startup in the world—became a decacorn and announced a string of acquisitions. During this period, Indian EdTech firms raised roughly $4 billion. Globally, the industry grew by around 21% year-on-year in 2021, and will likely cross $377 billion by 2028. The EdTech and smart classroom size grew at a compound annual growth rate of 19.34% in 2021, reaching a value of $99.50 billion, which is expected to increase to $241.58 billion by 2026. A large consumer base comprising 350 million students—a large chunk of which are English-speaking, technologically adept, and academically inclined people—combined with robust domestic and international investment, is likely to further facilitate the global expansion of Indian EdTech startups.
At least 1.2 billion students across 186 countries were impacted by pandemic-induced school closures, which triggered a surge in the usage of online tutoring, video conferencing platforms, and language apps, academic podcasts, and virtual learning software. In response to the rise in demand, several online learning platforms granted free access to a broad range of services for teachers and students, including capacity expansion, auto-translation, project co-editing in real time, unlimited video conferencing, smart calendars, and more.
EdTech was the natural solution for making the shift and outsourcing tasks that could be better handled through student management systems, social media learning tools, learning management systems, and more features that may continue to complement the traditional classroom, now that schools, colleges, and offices have reopened. The progress of the industry will likely be supported by the government’s interest in establishing digital learning platforms and creating regional e-learning content. The heightened need for constant up-skilling within the country’s corporate workforce will also increase the adoption of EdTech’s lifelong learning tools. And finally, the higher availability of internet services, affordable technological devices and online learning resources has created an ideal environment for the EdTech sector to spread its reach in the coming years.
