#78-Edtech disruption- Why the College Education will change way faster than School Education- by Sidhartha Sharma
Impact of Covid on Education
“What Netflix did to the cinema screens/DVD business, EdTech is doing to the Classrooms, L&D industry”
- Globally most schools and colleges have shifted to online curriculum
- Most examinations have been shifted, canceled, or converted to online mode
- Almost Every In-person training now has virtual alternatives to stop inessential travel and reduce costs
India as a nation recently canceled the Board examinations (Grade 10th and Grade 12th examinations) after the announcement by the Country’s Prime Minister. This has happened for the first time in the history of the country and several states are following the central government’s directives.
What is EdTech?
EdTech stands for education technology. It covers products/content, channels and tools of learning. It is not just online learning, but also the whole ecosystem of enablers like- software, hardware, and digital tools and services that can help deliver education in a frictionless manner.
What does the edTech ecosystem include?
- Desktop and mobile learning applications, platforms
- Curriculum design and management software
- E-books and interactive media
- Interaction and networking platforms for students, teachers, and parents
- Online program management systems
- Learning procurement and management systems
- Digital content libraries and databases
- Online and cloud-based platforms
- Content delivery and quality systems
Parents prefer college-going kids, want the kids to stay at home unless absolutely necessary.
Parents of school-going kids (grade 10 and below), want them to be more social and visit the school where they meet people. This is for their own ‘work-commitments too.
My take why college education and L&D has been disrupted but schooling will not change so fast:
- Classroom-based school training help in the social and behavioral development of the child.
- Double income parents have to either work from home or go to the office, thus they would prefer their children to be at school so that they can work with peace of mind. CUSTOMER ADOPTION IS DETERMINED BY CONVENIENCE, AND NOT JUST TECHNOLOGY
- College education has and will definitely experience a more permanent and irreversible shift to virtual formats.
- For school-going students- physical learning camps, extra tuition classes, and other non-core schooling programs will be disrupted by tech. Basically, places where parents had to drive kids or some extra coaching/ language classes that required a lot of commute time and travel costs.
The core business of Schools (Nursery till Grade 10th) is pretty much safe from edtech led disruption. The value-added services categories and the beyond grade 10th categories will be disrupted completely by Edtech players.
The poor segments of students who could not afford schools, or rural places in emerging markets where schools are at a far-off distance will benefit greatly from the Ed tech revolution. This is true for developing nations where education infrastructure does not exist (Africa, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Few Middle east nations, and India)
Tier-2 and Tier-3 mediocre colleges will lose their core business due to their inability to fight on cost and operations with EdTech companies.
Read more on L&D industry by Sidhartha
About the Author,
Sidhartha Sharma
Digital Strategy and Transformation Expert
