Owing to the digital tornado and advancement in technology, things are simpler and robust than ever. In the wake of this revolution, almost every single process is going paperless: banking, bills, newspaper, and what not. It has changed the way things work. The manifestation of technology can be seen in all the spheres of our life, including our education system.
The Indian education system is no longer confined to the four walls of classrooms. With ed-tech initiatives of a few companies like Educomp Solutions, Simplilearn, NIIT, and Abode Systems, the online learning sector in the country is growing manifold. These companies have already carved their niche in what they believe will be the next big thing in our country.
From blackboards and textbooks the change has almost been sudden. Students, these days have access to technology-enhanced learning via interactive videos, textbooks and customised learning modules. It has transformed the traditional classroom setup into an online, self-driven system of education.
Various studies show that India has immense scope for e-learning and boasts of being one of its largest markets. Moreover, since the current government has also taken a strong initiative for education sector’s growth, a changing stance gives an incentive to private companies to bring their innovations and resources. For example, a number of Digital India campaigns have created a spurt in the interests of education start-ups in India.
At present, the online training programs in India include school and college-based courses as well as mid-level professional courses. Educomp Solutions and Simplilearn for example are spearheading the second-wave of evolution in education with their diverse range of learning solutions. The companies have successfully created their own niche markets with Shantanu Prakash ushering the changes back in 1990s and Krishna Kumar founding Simplilearn in 2010.
These organizations along with a few others could prove to be pivotal in introducing changes in more than 10,000 government schools in the remotest corners of the country.
Infrastructure and manpower aside, the possibility of a structure of learning through technology could eliminate the need for massive investments in brick and mortar schools and still reap the same returns for India’s burgeoning education industry – and of course cater to the students in India. Thus we could look at e-learning as a means to eliminate the limitation of geography as a major hindering factor in the student-institution relationship.
With both students as well as the teachers rapidly embracing the expediency and convenience offered by e-learning, the conventional system of education is undergoing a sea change, and for the good. Certainly, this transition from virtual to digital sphere is not just a fad, but a revolution of sorts.