Blockchain Technology: Game Changer For Indian Education Sector

Sreevidya Satish Apr 20, 2023

Digital transformation in the education system has been underway for quite some time. The Covid pandemic has accelerated the pace with digitalisation touching every aspect of the sector. From students tapping digital platforms for studies to remote examination and evaluation processes in schools, colleges and universities, to doubt clearances by chatbots to the preparation of competitive examinations; digital tools have made deep inroads now. Recently announced National Education Policy 2020 (NEP) is likely to take the digital drive of the education sector to a new level with universal access as one of the key tenets. Notably, the application of emerging technologies including AI, ML, AR/VR, blockchain and big data is also on a rise. For instance, in a first, the graduating IITians were awarded their degrees in, a blockchain-based, digital form last year.

Multitude used cases

The administration of education services covers more domains than just issuing certificates and diplomas to students. It includes a complete record of the student onboarding process including creating an identity number for each student which is then used to create access to various services and opportunities. Similarly, an institution also creates identifiers for staff members to enable tracking through various management application modules such as HR, payroll, professional development and such. To approach the topic of digitisation of processes, one has to take a holistic approach.

Hybrid learning has taken the centre stage in the post-Covid world. Now, educational institutions are increasingly adopting hybrid learning to improve access for students and expand their reach. Despite life coming back to normal, access to quality education is still a far cry in far-flung regions of the country. To overcome this challenge, blockchain technology can be effectively leveraged. Because blockchain technology creates digitally verifiable credentials that are essential to any form of digital education. Like cryptocurrency, where blockchain creates identifiable ledgers, similar applications can be followed in the education sector. For instance, students can be issued credentials with short and memorable identifiers with the help of blockchain technology. These identifiers can store the learning progress, requirement and challenges of individual students. So, a student profile becomes an active digital resume that helps in designing a specific glide path, depending on his or her progress in academics. Such a digital identifier becomes an indelible proof of credentials of the student over the lifetime.

Verifiable credentials also enable employers, educational institutions, and other organisations with a trusted and standardised way to verify the authenticity of students. Many states in India have seen fraudulent activities in getting jobs by candidates through providing false certificates on education, reservations, and others. As blockchain-powered credentials tamper proof and these, thereby, reduce the chances of such fraudulent activities. Another important outcome of having digitally verifiable credentials is that it provides better safety and security to students’ and personnel’s sensitive information. According to Check Point Research, the Indian education sector witnessed the second most number of cyberattacks in 2022 after healthcare. Leveraging digital technology such as blockchain can protect such sensitive information from cyber attackers. It also helps the sector to comply with data governance and audit rules.

Blockchain technology can help the Indian education sector in capacity building in many areas, especially for personnel working in the sector. Administrators can review, manage and build upskilling paths and recognise achievements through the inclusion of certificates, badges, and micro-credentials that are portable and can be received, stored and exchanged in a digital wallet. Given the upskilling requirement, such digital wallets created through blockchain technology can be a game-changer in improving the overall quality of education. Increasingly, schools and institutes are implementing various software which can help in effective collaboration. This new-age software is equipped with file sharing, video conferencing and chat features among others. Having ready-to-use information registries created through blockchain goes a long way in improving operational efficiency.

Despite such obvious benefits, the readiness of the Indian education sector remains low in terms of leveraging digital technologies. The main challenges are ill-equipped educational institutions, low-cost infrastructure and lack of proper budget for the creation of proper IT systems among others. The education sector also faces a woeful shortage of skilled technical manpower. Against this backdrop, educational institutions both public and private must spend more on technology for making the learning system effective.

Globally, the potential for the usage of blockchain technology in the education sector is huge. According to market research firm Business Research Insights, the market size of blockchain in the education sector has the potential to touch $1 billion by 2028 from around $120 million in 2021. Therefore, the Indian education sector should promptly leverage blockchain technology through partnerships with the right technology partner for ensuring quality education for students.