Recent developments in the edtech space in India have started addressing major concerns like access to quality education and rich pedagogy across geographies.
India is the largest K12 education system in the world with 260 million enrolments, but we consistently rank low in all global education assessments because of these three core problems:
1. Lack of access to good quality teachers
2. Learning is never personalised — it is a one-size-fits-all approach because of 1:35 teacher-student ratio in India (as against 1:14 in the developed world)
3. Most importantly, memory-based learning driven by fear of exams rather than the love for learning.
Seventy per cent of the K-12 segment has access to a smartphone, and this percentage is fast increasing. This gives an opportunity to use smartphone as a learning device and app as a medium to reach millions of students. This can solve the problem of access.
There is also a lot of scope for improvement in the way students learn. Today, learning is still driven by the fear of exams, and not the love for learning. There is so much focus on the end result of marks and grades that students miss out on the fun of real learning. If students learn in the right way, and if they like learning, they will secure good marks anyway.
We are all getting trained to solve questions, but not to find problems. If we can have a system which encourages students to take the initiative to learn on their own, with parents and teachers playing supporting roles, it will help them reach their true potential.
If we can make an intervention in the way students learn in their formative years, when they start learning and feeling these subjects in school, the impact can be huge. Subjects are generally taught in an abstract way. The use of technology can help make learning Visual and contextual, which makes it interesting and easy to understand. Learning this way helps the student understand not just the “What” of learning, but the “Why” and the “How” as well. It also makes it easy to personalise as most concepts are interrelated. Technology and data science can be used to understand the pace of learning, size of learning and style of learning of every student. This can be used to give personalised recommendations.
For edtech companies to succeed, it’s important to keep in mind that it has to be education first, where technology is an enabler. Online learning is not just about taking offline learning online, by just digitising content; technology can be used to make learning better and much more effective. Integrating technology in education not only increases engagement but also simplifies the way students learn.
At BYJU’S, we have witnessed tremendous growth and adoption since the launch of our learning app. There is tremendous potential in this segment as more and more students are warming up to the idea of technology enabled learning. Large-scale intervention of technology in the Indian education system can truly revolutionise the way India learns. For most Indians, education is still the best way to make it big, so if we can help millions of students learn better, that will create a huge impact.
The author is founder & CEO, BYJU’S
Guest Author
Byju Raveendran is the CEO and founder of BYJU's, India's largest EdTech company. From a small village in Kerala, he is born to teacher parents. From a young age, Byju was a self-learner who developed different learning methods to understand concepts better. He is also an avid player (knows to play 6 games), who believes that children can learn a lot more outside the classrooms by playing multiple games. A two-time CAT topper and National Math Olympiad winner, he started Byju's with the vision to help students fall in love with learning and change the way India learns.
