Rural EdTech Changing Through Technology; A Boon Post-Pandemic?

The black swan event of 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic has brought unimaginable changes to all of our lives, especially children. The school-going population in India has shifted from traditional classrooms to virtual classes. This can be a positive point for the edtech companies, but they may not really have made life easier for their primary customers - the students. For example, a large population of India still lives in rural areas. Traditionally, students from rural India would get a basic education from their local government school, and then due to lack of infrastructure, would give up on higher education. While EdTech has certainly helped rural kids, the penetration of affordable smartphones and the internet is low in Indian villages.

“There are millions of such students, whose only fault is that they were born in distant villages of India. They are smart and want to study. Maybe, they can even afford to go to better schools. But, the nearest school could be tens of kilometres away,” states Vikas Kakwani, Founder, AAS Vidyalaya. “If we look at the statistics, India has about 8 lacs primary schools (Grades 1-5), 4 lacs middle schools (Grades 6-8) and 1.6 lacs secondary schools (Grades 9-10). Most of these are in cities and towns.”

The Rising EdTech

The Covid situation has created a lot of opportunities in the tech space, making life easier for consumers. The EdTech sector is the fastest to catch up on the trend. An important reason besides "necessity" due to Covid, is the increasing acceptance of students as well as their parents to switch to tech from physical classrooms. One-on-one learning provides a personalised speed for slow learners and fast learners can always look for multiple things to study. On the other hand, blended - traditional and virtual - learning has improved the possibility for children to learn in their mother tongue.

An ET report suggested that edtech could become a $30 Bn industry in the next 10 years. So, what could pave way for such a huge consumer base in India?

Internet and Smartphone penetration in India

For one, mobiles, which started out replacing 4-5% of landlines, have completely replaced the telecom industry. India is also one of the most affordable countries in terms of Internet pricing. Almost 80% of smartphones today have internet connectivity. That is, almost half of the Indian population (1.38 Bn+) use internet with laptops, computers as well as smartphones.

“Not all of them have access to smart devices. Maybe the internet is patchy but they could see the glimmer of hope on the horizon. Due to Education Technology, a child can study anytime anywhere without the constraint of location, finance or work. They may be sitting in the remotest corner of northeast, at home in Jammu; helping on their father's farm in Bihar,” Vikas states. “For example, a child travelling long distances to attend school in Uttarakhand now doesn't have the distance excuse for not continuing his/her schooling. Digital education has truly served to be a hope to the crores of children who are not going to school or are not getting a proper education. It is connecting “Bharat” with India as the power of e-learning is for the masses,” he further adds.

EdTech just not a way for education but jobs too?

The world is increasingly moving towards tech today. What basic computer education goes on in schools these days, especially in rural India, may not be enough for the tech-oriented generation today and the workers of tomorrow. With increasing edtech, students are naturally becoming tech-savvy. Familiarity with technology is a crucial element in driving its adoption when it comes to the less “tech-savvy” demographic. Thus, the D2C model of any edtech may not be the answer here. Instead, India Inc should not ignore the possibility of YouTube classes, WhatsApp video classes on smartphones, etc., to help rural students in addition to TVs, Projectors, Computers etc.

Thus, integrating technology with education is definitely the need of the hour; not just for students but for educators, officers, and policymakers, and EdTech can explore the possibility of expanding hardware-wise as well as software-wise to penetrate the rural edtech market.