Why EdTech failed to take off

BD RALHAN

The past two-three years have witnessed a spurt in EdTech companies in India. While the established players have only aimed at catering to the conventional needs such as a digital classrooms and e-books, startups have come up with far more innovative products. These are learning apps and experiential-learning solutions aimed at making learning fun and engaging.

The spurt in EdTech companies, however, has not been matched by their adoption. There are many challenges that the sector has to overcome to truly make it big. Here are five challenges that the EdTech sector is facing: 

Slow device penetration rate 

Many reports and studies have predicted that device penetration will be one of the reasons behind EdTech’s success in India. However, digital devices are beyond the means of many parents. 

Parents are sceptical about screen time

It is essential that there is a balance between screen time and other real-world activities that a child indulges in. However, many parents are still sceptical about the benefits of the educational screen time. Too much time spent by a child on an educational app is not encouraged by parents and even teachers. 

Culture of buying EdTech products online is damp

The market for B2C EdTech products can only grow and thrive when parents make online purchases; however, that trend is yet to catch up. As a result, sellers are forced to resort to door-to-door selling, which is limited in its scope and scale. Buying EdTech goods online will lead to better adoption. Parents will also have a wide range of products to choose from. 

Preference for physical tuitions 

There is lack of demonstration of value addition of B2C EdTech products as against physical tuitions. Everyone might agree that educational technology products have greater value than physical tuitions, but most parents still don’t make choices that demonstrate such beliefs.  

Integrated education not as popular

Subjects are still taught in isolation in schools. However, there is a need to adopt an integrated approach to instil 21st century skills in kids. For instance, science, technology, engineering and technology (STEM) education is such an approach. Though there are many products in the EdTech market that promote integrated learning such as experiential learning kits, their adoption rate is low because of lack of  awareness. 

The writer is CEO Next Education India Pvt Ltd