India Edtech Consortium

January 16, 2022

The private companies in India have joined together to form India EdTech Consortium. It was formed under the guidance of Internet Mobile Association of India. It was launched after Government of India announced that it is to launch as policy to regulate the edtech sector, that is education and technology sector.

What is Edtech?

EdTech is Education and Technology. Before COVID-19, the education and technology sector were performing normally. They were growing steadily. The COVID induced lock down shut schools and colleges. Suddenly modern choice, that is, remote learning became the only alternative. Four out of every six edtech startup have succeeded in their respective field during this phase. And these startups are valued at 1 billion USD!

Who are forming the Consortium?

It is mostly formed by the 1 billion USD companies. This includes Unacademy, BYJU’s, upGrad, Lead School and Vedantu. These 1 billion USD companies are generally referred to as Unicorns. Technically unicorns are defined as those companies whose annual turnover is more than one billion USD.

What are the complaints against edtech companies?

People are enrolling in courses without studying about the courses completely. The edtech companies are not providing clear details about the courses. This includes subjects included, fee structure, certificate, etc. Some have even signed up for loans. Some of the edtech companies are forcing parents to sign for the auto debit feature.

Need for the consortium

Basically, the consortium is framing self-regulation. This is being done to reduce the interference of the government in the sector’s operating principles or rules and regulations. The parliament of India recently debated about the malpractices in edtech companies. These practices are undertaken to attract consumers. In December 2021, the Government of India issued an advisory of dos and donts to guardians and students who are signing up online courses offered by the edtech companies.

What is the plan of the consortium?

The consortium has launched a three page code. It stresses on transparency, warnings of misleading ads. The educational institutions can use their students’ success as promotion tool only with proper proof of performance. The industrial players should compulsorily adopt codes issued by Advertising Standards Council of India. FAQs related to loans should be mentioned clearly.

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