Today, online education has become our cultural zeitgeist. No matter what age group you belong to, where you stay, or what you want to learn, someone is offering comprehensive classes on it.
From professional skill upgrades to daily home tutoring, we perceive and see the world and its vast knowledge on 15-inch laptop screens.
In 2016 however, the story was a little different. The value of the Indian online education market was just $250 million. Five years later, today, the market value stands at almost $2 billion.
That’s an 8X growth in very little time. The number of people using Indian online education in 2016 was just 1.6 million. Today that number has grown to almost 9.6 million.
But what led to this massive rise? Today we welcome optimism to find out how the industry has flourished in the present economic crisis around the world.
1. The Digital India Initiative
Launched in 2015 by the Union Government, the digital India initiative looked to improve digital connectivity, lower consumption costs, and increase access to the worldwide web.
It helped telecom companies go on a mass subscription drive for affordable 4G connections and became one of the main reasons why online education grew in leaps and bounds. Only 21% of India was online in 2014.
By 2019, that has increased to over 34%. This 13% growth in just 5 years laid the foundation for developing the Indian online education industry.
2. After-effects of the pandemic
Since March 2020, the pandemic has been one of the significant disruptors around the world. The nationwide lockdown had halted schools and colleges, and the only way forward was to adapt to online.
Schools set up teaching accounts on virtual meeting apps, and even mainstream education with assessment, examinations moved online. Not only did this increase the reach of online tutoring, but it also simplified school education and adapted to the new normal.
3. Reduced cost of education
According to experts, classroom education costs are likely to increase by 175%. Indian online education is helping cut these costs and make education more accessible to all.
This imminent inflation of classroom education costs has initiated schools to move online on a more than temporary basis. How it moves forward from here remains to be seen.
4. Restructuring the education system
Gone are the days when degrees were the only way to upgrade professional skills. Today, online certification and diploma courses are packing relevant information and skills into 4 to 104 weeks.
Online certificate programs now hold merit with private companies and allow employees to grow in their careers faster and more affordably.
5. More flexibility
In today’s fast-paced world, more flexibility means more convenience. Online courses follow a learn-at-your-pace structure, which helps students juggle their work and studies.
This has made the education technology industry in India acceptable to people of all age groups, even the 40s.
6. Employing millennials
Online education also allows fresh graduates and subject-matter experts to get employed in tutoring and academic content creation. Not only are they savvier with technology, but they are also able to use their specialized knowledge to earn.
This has caused a shift from prioritizing employment to prioritizing the right industry, especially in the academia segment.
These 6 reasons have been the pillars of exceptional growth of the industry. Today, we can read books and versions that are now out of publication because of the availability of online educational services.
The democratization of education has built massive momentum for a higher literacy rate and a more promising future. If you have taken a course online or have an interesting story about online classes, please share it in the comments below.
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