Future Path Of Digital Learning In India

Bhupendra Paintola Jan 20, 2023

The new education policy aims to increase the enrolment ratio in Indian higher education from 27 per cent to 50 per cent by 2030, which is impossible with the current physical infrastructure, providing enough space for the whole online learning movement to occupy, said Anish Srikrishna, President & CEO, Times Pro, during a conversation with Dr Annurag Batra, Editor-in-Chief & Chairman, BW Businessworld Group and Founder, exchange4Media, on the pivotal role EdTech can play in education management.

For us, the role of online education is to solve a problem that cannot be solved through physical institutions, Anish added.

He was speaking at Future Of Management Conclave 2023, organised by BW Businessworld on Thursday in New Delhi.

About courses in vogue, Anish added that there is massive uptake on technology-related courses as well as convergent courses like management technology.

Speaking on artificial intelligence and machine learning, Anurag stated that the backdrop of AI and ML is that they always look at the past and hence anything new that needs to be created will not be created. Hence, subjects like art, etc. which require a new hypothesis, can’t be created through it.

Underscoring the offerings by edtech, Anish said that communication technology and the invasion of technology into management have enabled people to develop better personalities and softer skills. Moreover, it has impressed the learner a lot by not only making him aware of events around the globe but also by providing a robust and flexible curriculum.

Delineating the developments in the company, he stated, "We have been at the forefront of higher education technology. We aspire to provide a solution for affordability as well as access to people, with the goal of serving one of the country's most deserving populations in higher education. Prior to 10 years, we started with the simple premise that 'if 60 per cent of our graduates are unemployable, how can we solve the problem?'"

He further explained, "So we look at various high-employability sectors and ponder how we can provide solutions for graduates as well as industry to meet the supply-demand gap. With the advent of technology, we have transformed into a solution for working professionals. So, we are one of the few companies that started with education DNA and went into technology DNA."

Talking about the role of the learner, Anish stated, "The learners are driving a lot of the thinking that edtech companies are putting into their efforts. This way, we have been able to bridge the learner academia gap and to a certain extent, the industry academia gap because we are at the confluence of the employer-learner academic interface."