New Age Technology: Transforming Indian Education Sector

Being the second most populated country in the world has its own demographic dividends for India. When it comes to the youth (5-24 years age), India has the largest population with over 580 million people in the category. This presents a massive opportunity for the education sector. The Government of India has permitted 100 per cent FDI through the automatic route for the industry. Until June, 2022, the FDI equity inflows stood at $7.92 billion. Estimated to be worth $117 billion in FY20, the Indian education sector is on its way to become a $225 billion market by FY25.

The Government of India has brought in various impactful initiatives such as National Accreditation Regulatory Authority Bill for Higher Educational and the Foreign Educational Institutions Bill. The aim of the policy makers is to create an ecosystem that leads to enhancement of the education sector into a futuristic and globally competitive facilitator of talent development. However, this is also where the biggest transformational opportunity lies for the country.

In the recent years, the pace of technology adoption has accelerated in almost every walk of personal and professional lives. The rising integration of technology is in turn leading to a change in nature of jobs and the labour market. For instance, opportunities for coders, software developers and network engineers etc are rising in every industry, and not just in IT or SaaS companies. As per the estimates of OECD, 1 billion jobs that account for nearly one-third of all jobs globally, will undergo a tech-driven transformation in the next ten years.

Emergence of edtech in India

Indian edtech companies received $3.95 billion in funding across 155 deals in the FY22. Alongside transforming the learning and development segment, there is an incredible potential offered by technology when it comes to holistically transforming the education sector. Advanced technologies such as AI, ML, IoT and blockchain are being rapidly integrated into the ecosystem, and these will redefine the entire approach to education in the years ahead. It won’t be wrong to say that there is an Education 4.0 revolution unfolding in the country. 

This technology driven approach will make education inclusive and increase employability of the learners. Policies like NEP which are going to be gradually implemented through 2020s, starting from 2021 or 22 will further boost the quality of vocational education in India. The faculty and staff have to play a critical role in ensuring that the colleges and universities across the country achieve their strategic objectives such as improving outcomes for the students, and increasing inclusivity of the student and faculty bodies. This would bring about a more composite culture and superior research impact. 

One of the most effective ways to ensure that students passing out of schools and colleges have superior employability is to adopt career-connected learning. Instead of finishing school, graduating from university and then finding a job, it can benefit learners if they get opportunities to work as apprentices in tech roles and continue their conventional education alongside. This would make a person far more tech proficient and hands-on experienced in job environment.

Employers need to focus more on this approach as it can help them bridge the skill gap. It will benefit them as they get quality skills faster and the overall society as students enjoy better and faster employability. Apart from upskilling the talent base with advanced tech-driven skills, there is going to be a humongous need of green skills in the years ahead. Climate change is already a reality and to counter it, India needs millions of green skilled professionals who can use their tech knowhow to create and operate sustainable systems and help in cutting down emissions and energy consumption across sectors.

India has a massive need for skill development and upgradation of learning processes to ensure that the talent base in the country is competitive on technology and green skill parameters which will be the norm in years ahead. This is where technology-driven educational systems, flexible and simplified learning solutions powered by AI and ML etc., are going to be the game changers for the education system in India.

Dr Yajulu Medury

Guest Author The author is Vice Chancellor, Mahindra University