According to experts the number of new start-ups in the space will eventually come down. Though the growth rates will decline, the momentum will continue because numerous schools and students are yet to be covered by edtech.
According to trade report India holds an important place in the global education industry. The country has one of the largest networks of higher education institutions in the world, with ~260 million students enrolled in >1.5 million schools and ~39,000 colleges, primarily dominated by the private sector. In India, the education market stood at US$ 100 billion in 2016 and is expected to reach US$ 180 billion by 2020, presenting itself as a lucrative opportunity for monetisation.
“The new education policy (NEP) will continue to work as a facilitator for the growth of the sector. In the years ahead, we will see consolidation in the industry that will give rise to a few major players for each segment within edtech,” experts say.
Indian edtech sector has attracted huge capital investments and this will continue for the next few years.Education technology has not only helped maintain continuity for institutions but has also helped them become more efficient and better governed.
According to CIEL HR Services Director and CEO Aditya Mishra, the pandemic has drastically changed the way of teaching and learning, and the funding for edtech has remained bullish leading to the adoption of advanced technology, growth in both revenue as well as hiring.
“We estimate that there are more than 10,000 active openings across levels and permanent roles in the industry. Apart from these, there are at least 50,000 temporary job openings in the edtech sector,” Mishra stated.
Tech innovations and widening adaption of technology in education has also helped create new products, improve customer satisfaction, brought in personalisation in learning and improved metrics of assessments.
The education-technology space in India has witnessed a steady upturn since 2013 with investment and funding increasing 5x times between 2013 and 2016.
However, the covid-19 pandemic in 2020 proved to be the watershed moment for the edtech industry as a whole, specifically online learning has witnessed a significant rise among both students and professionals, he noted.
“The demand from the industry and institutions for ed-tech and related services has grown by about 140% over the past 14 months.
Education technology has become mainstream now – not only does it support classroom education but has helped create new life forms of education that can help both traditional and employed learners.
The edtech has emerged as a growth powerhouse, supporting the economy through investments and new jobs. Hiring in the edtech sector has grown to 50-60% compared to pre-covid-19 times. The various roles that have emerged over the past couple of years would not have existed in the years before.
The growth is expected to increase by around 40-50% for the next 2-3 years as there is still a huge gap between demand and supply reports suggests.
Where the growth is witnessed is in the backroom, especially for software developers, support function, teacher, content writer, marketing professionals. Experience bracket which is larger in demand is 3-5 years and 6-10 years.
Hiring in the sector is also being done for roles such as content creators, academicians (faculty and trainers), marketing, product development, app developers, technical architects, program managers, software engineers, cloud infrastructure and security specialists.
Edtech gets a big boost during COVID-19 as Internet Consumption Rises
Introduction of edtech has led to increasing acceptance of alternative learning modes such as online learning in India. As of 2016, India witnessed a growth in users with 40% of the total population using the Internet. The internet user base is expected to reach 735 million by 2021, highlighting a positive outlook for online education in India. With the highest adoption rate of technology among the youth and an exponential rise in the number of smartphone users, the country will witness an incredible pace of internet growth.
The online education market stood at US$ 247 million in 2016 with ~1.57 million paid users; is expected to expand at a 52% CAGR to reach US$ 1.96 billion in 2021 driven by increased consumer adoption, improvements in offerings and changes in business models. The paid user base is expected to increase from 1.57 million users in 2016 to ~9.6 million in 2021. Out of 1400 edtech companies in the world, India has the second-highest number with 327 companies (10%).
Cities such as Bengaluru, Pune, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Delhi and NCR are witnessing higher hiring trends in the sector, he added.
