It is expected that the year 2021 will bring robust adoption of technology in the education sector. The experts believe that there is potential scope for faster innovation and technological developments in Indian ed-tech ecosystem.

In an article published in one of the daily newspaper, Amitabh Kant, CEO, National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) AAYOG, opined, “With over 4,500 start-ups and a current valuation of around $700 million, the market is geared for exponential growth — estimates project an astounding market size of $30 billion in the next 10 years.”

“Coalescing with the learning crisis is the Fourth Industrial Revolution — the imperative now is to reimagine education and align it with the unprecedented technological transformation. As traditional brick-and-mortar service delivery models are being disrupted across sectors, the pandemic offers a critical, yet stark, reminder of the impending need to weave technology into education,” Kant added in his article.

He said that the new National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 is a response of the government to give a clear message to integrate technology at every level of instruction. There is a need to spearhead and deploy technology usage in educational institutions.

Meanwhile, industry stalwarts also believe that the education sector requires potential investment for digital transformation in areas like having digitally enabled smart campuses, data driven AI, and next generation immersive technology in the future.

The COVID 19 crisis has compelled the education sector to revamp itself and align with changing technology.

Saji Kumar S., Director MNA Alliances, Device Partner Solution Sales, Microsoft Corporation (India)Pvt Ltd said, “Education is one of the segments where we have seen a spur in the requirements for moving from a classroom to a remote running platform. Microsoft has segmented it into three phases of learning like response, recovery and reimagination phase. The changes in the education system that had to happen in the next 5-7 years took place within 5-7 months during the Covid pandemic.”

Kumar S added that the virtual classroom should have a very creative and collaborative environment. It should have easy to manage technology at an affordable cost. The need is for quality and flexible learning platforms that are manageable, productive and secure.

“A comprehensive ed-tech policy architecture must focus on four key elements — providing access to learning, especially to disadvantaged groups; enabling processes of teaching, learning, and evaluation; facilitating teacher training and continuous professional development; improving governance systems including planning, management, and monitoring processes,” Kant also emphasized.

Prof Atul Khosla, Founder and Vice Chancellor, Shoolini University, said, “Technology is one critical thing that will be the future of smart learning. How we can leverage technology in Indian institutions is a very important aspect for improved learning.

“There is a need for the teachers and students to absorb such technological growth. However, disruption will happen with regulatory changes,” Khosla added.