The central government is developing a policy to regulate the country’s edtech players. The proposed policy aims to reduce monopolies and prevent some edtech platforms from exploiting students through lofty promises or unfair practises.
The Union Education Ministry is in discussions with the Ministries of Law and Electronics and Information and Technology (MeitY) to develop a common policy for the sector, which has seen a surge in the last two years.
Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on January 3 said he respects edtech firms and is not against their business growth. “But there cannot be a monopoly…you cannot exploit students,” the minister noted.
He said the government’s role is that of a guardian for youngsters and his ministry has observed that some edtech firms are exploiting students in the name of loan-based courses.
“We are in talks with the Ministry of Law and MeitY about how we can have a common policy on edtech platforms,” Pradhan said during an event organised by All Indian Council for Technical Education (AICTE).
Last month, the minister stated that he had directed all of his departments – school education, higher education, and skill development and entrepreneurship – to issue advisories.
In December, the Education Ministry issued a warning to students to be on the lookout for unfair practises, as there was growing talk of poor delivery despite lofty promises.
“Do not blindly trust the advertisements of the edtech companies. Do not sign up for any loans of which you are not aware. Do not install any mobile edtech application without verifying the authenticity,” said a recent advisory from the government.
On January 3, Pradhan noted that he does not want to control knowledge, but instead has asked edtech companies to become collaborative partners and work with the government to reduce learning loss. He stated that both domestic and international edtech companies operate in India, and that he would discourage some monopolies.
Since the pandemic’s outbreak, India’s edtech start-ups have seen an increase in demand. Demand has propelled firms such as Byju’s, Unacademy, upGrad, Simplilearn, Vedantu, and others into rapid growth. Dozens of start-ups have received funding rounds from investors, who are betting big on Indian start-ups contending for a piece of the massive education market in India and abroad.
