India becomes world’s Edtech hub.

Many Indian ed tech companies are witnessing a sharp increase in international enrolments as demand for AI, ML, data sciences and cloud computing bring in more learners. Switzerland-based kiteboarder and translator Ursina Sanderink (25), has enrolled with Simplilearn as it was cheaper and within her budget. Simplilearn’s founder andCEO Krishna Kumar said, “About 60% of our revenues are from overseas markets.” The education tech platform saw global learners enrollment growth at 70% in 2020-21, as compared to previous 45% growth in the previous year.

Education technology (EdTech) in India drew well over $2 billion in funding this year, sparked by the widespread shift to online education due to Covid-19. A new PGA Labs and Indian Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (IVCA) report elaborates.

The report estimates that education is a $117 billion market in India with around 360 million learners in 2019-20. The report further said around $49 billion is spent on school education, 66% of which is spent on primary education and 27% on secondary education. Around $42 billion is spent on supplementary education, which primarily comprises private coaching and test preparation.

The National Education Policy of 2020 reflected this sudden emergence of edtech into the spotlight, by stressing the importance of leveraging technology in education solutions.

Even pre-Pandemic, the K-12 learning outcomes numbers were dire. As per the ASER 2018 report, only 20.9% Std 3 students in government schools and 40.6% in private schools can read a Std 2 text. In Std 5, this number rises only to 50%.

So, if formal schools are shut down for a whole year, how will learning outcomes like reading be impacted? The ASER 2020 Wave-1 report suggests that while only 30% families of children who went to government schools, 50% families of children who went to private schools owned smartphones in 2018. This number rose sharply to 56% and 74%, triggered by the sudden transition to online learning.