With plans for digital university in the works, what role would EdTechs play?

The National Education Policy (NEP) of 2020 envisages several targets for the education sector in the coming years. The most striking of them all is the proposed plan to invest as much as 6 per cent of the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) in education. While only a brief look at the books would indicate that India has never come close to spending as much on education, the idea to get there is commendable. 

In fact, India's allocated budget for education this year comes to only 3.1 per cent of the GDP. To get to almost double that tally, it can be said, would not happen overnight. Hence, other allied targets such as increasing the gross enrollment ratio (GER) from the current 27.1 per cent to 50 per cent would also seem like distant dreams. The logical way to get there would be to double the current number of colleges which stands at about 60,000. But this year's budget had another element that, despite getting only a cursory mention, calls for greater optimism in terms of improving the numbers and standards of higher education. The element is that of the digital university.

With broadband connectivity penetrating more and more villages with each passing day, internet access and the digital divide would become a less pressing concern, even though they present a significant obstacle right now. Such a point in the near future would be the most opportune to reap the rewards of a digital university that offers a standard of education at par with the central universities and IITs. All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) Chairman Anil Sahasrabudhe perhaps said it most succinctly: "The digital university may be the only means to address the limitations of seats and quality education." But the question on everybody's mind right now is, "How do we get there first?" 

While it may not be clear as to who all would be the stakeholders in such a project, it is almost certain that a lot would depend on the EdTech sector. After all, the Chairman of the University Grants Commission (UGC) M Jagadesh Kumar had mentioned that they are working on adding a clause about collaboration with EdTechs. Edexlive caught up with a few of the leading EdTech ventures to understand just what they might bring to the table when it comes to the digital university. 

Count on them
The most obvious facet where EdTech can step in is to provide manpower, technology and resources. Girish Singhania, CEO of EduBridge, says, "The digital university and EdTechs can work together on co-creating and co-certification of several courses where there will be a continuous demand. Some of the on-demand and important courses can be delivered by EdTechs with ease and at a scalable level."

It is clear that the relationship between the digital university and EdTech platforms would be a symbiotic one. Gerald Jaideep, CEO of Medvarsity, offers his take on this. He says, "The digital university announcement would give a formal structure to the partnership between EdTech platforms and universities. EdTechs can step in to make universities ready to provide their expertise to the digital learner of a modern India." Girish Singhania meanwhile, points to the advantage of the integration of programmes offered by EdTech platforms with the mainstream curriculum. "It will ensure that all participants and learners get access to employment-linked courses which are relevant for corporate jobs," he says.

Another potential benefit of the digital university partnering with EdTechs can be that the best industry experts can be roped in to teach the students. "Because universities are fundamentally supposed to be non-profit institutions, the Indian education scenario has never been able to attract the best teaching minds from across the world. But this is likely to change if EdTechs are allowed to have a stake in the digital university," Jaideep explains. Furthermore, this can have a knock-on alluring effect of attracting the best young minds to study in India as well. "We can really become an educational hub in the world," he concludes. 

What's the online scene like?
The formation of a digital university would also affect the larger online education scene in a positive way. "Such a project would mean that the Indian communal psyche towards online education would receive a complete makeover. People would be more accepting of online courses. It would also lead to logistical benefits for the user as they can save time lost in transit to colleges in the physical space. More importantly, people regardless of their age differences can choose to learn in a more accepting environment. There would be no awkwardness that might affect them in a physical setting," says Alok Kumar, Founder and CEO of StockDaddy. 

Amidst the possibilities that the digital university would create, the experts also shed light on the possible obstacles. The chief concern is that of the internet itself. While internet accessibility might become less of an issue, its affordability is an entirely different problem. "I feel the government should realise that students should be provided with some form of subsidy for the internet when the digital university comes into effect. EdTechs also face the challenge to maintain all cloud services pertaining to the users intact. Ultimately, it is the user that bears the cost. Hence, affording the means to get a degree from the digital university could be seen as a hurdle," explains Alok Kumar.

Girish Singhania pointed to another hiccup that might affect EdTech companies. "Technology-based cross-integration of products and offerings seem to sound like a challenge that could be expected at initial stages. This may lead to certain constraints," he says. 

It stands to reason that the digital university is in its nascent stages, to say the absolute least. But there is no doubting the fact that the EdTech community is all set to be a major stakeholder in it. The question is therefore not whether they will be ready for the project, but rather how much involvement will they be granted by the government.