Teachers Are No More The Sources Of Knowledge, But They Are The Guides To Knowledge: Monica Malhotra Kandhari, Managing Director, MBD Group

The population growth of India apparently goes hand-in-hand with its comparative underinvestment in the field of education. With the developing technology, artificial intelligence, and automation, EdTech is estimated to be India’s next global export. To have a discussion on these lines, BW Education held its BW Dialogue in association with BW Businessworld. The power-packed session was moderated by Dr Anurag Batra, Chairman and Editor In Chief, BW Businessworld & Exchange4Media. The esteemed guest for the day was Ms Monica Malhotra Kandhari, Managing Director, MBD Group.

She started off describing how the past 180 days were for her. “The entire ecosystem is impacted on this, but the major impact has been on technology which has come as a saviour. There’s so much of bullish attitude which shows what the future is going to be”. She explained that no AI can take the role of the teacher away, but technology is the future. MBD Group is planning to launch their app very soon and is leveraging to make full use of technology.

When asked about the teachers of ‘tomorrow’, she stated, “India was far ahead technologically, and during this time, we are pushed to adapt to technology. AT MBD we have been training teachers about technology.” The teachers’ role has been enlarged and the classrooms are now more student-centric. “Teachers are no more the sources of knowledge, but they are the guides to knowledge”, she stated. The app by MDI will help the students get dynamic content, connect with teachers, and the most important thing is that the AI will do an in-depth analysis of the students which in return will help the teachers. “The teachers have a lot on the table already, they have to be given easier tools”, Ms Monica stated.

Talking about how a company like MBD is converting from a traditional content company to an EdTech company, Ms Monica said, “We are far ahead when it comes to adapting technology in the education field of India. Our strengths are our teacher-connect and they have been associated with us for everything. The core strength is how we bring affordable solutions to the students, teachers, and parents.” MBD has always been there to do books on content which can be personalised for a particular State, or school that too in their mother tongue. Their outreach to more than 70,000 users.

“Technology is a friend to a teacher, and it is not here to replace.” Ms Monica further said, “Technology will do a lot through analytics, but the teacher has to hand-hold. Without technology, the student-teacher ratio is very high, and technology will help to bridge the gap.” The targets of NEP can be applied, if we bring in a hybrid mode of learning. User-friendly technology is there on the teacher’s table, but they just have to be more proactive and make use of the technology.

In conclusion, Ms Monica spoke about how the customisation of content, adaptation and learning is the future. “The outreach has to be there which is only possible through technology”, she concluded.