Edtech firms in India, which are generally known to be bitter rivals, are coming together under one umbrella. They have also come up with a self-regulatory code. Why? Fear and misgiving over their collective future seem to be at play.
Allow us to explain: India's frontline edtech firms like Byju's, and Unacademy, among others, have written to the Union Education Ministry on their joint common code of conduct for carrying out business. There are 15 edtech firms in this autonomous grouping that is being called the 'India EdTech Consortium', which will be part of the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), according to a report in the Economic Times.
The hitherto disparate edtech companies are trying to bunch themselves together as they fear a government regulatory policy is on the anvil to monitor them.
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What is the government up to?
Last week, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said that his Ministry, along with the Ministry of Electronics and Information and Technology and the law department, was mulling a common policy on edtech platforms in India.
“We have found that some edtech companies are exploiting students in the name of loan-based courses… The companies are welcome to do business in India but they cannot exploit students,” the Minister said.
Around the time, Indian Parliament also discussed the issue of edtech companies misleading students and their partners to sell their courses.
In general, there have been widespread complaints, especially on social media platforms, that these new-fangled online education companies sold courses on a monthly renewal basis but arranged financing or loans for up to three years. The point is students are locked-in, and aren't allowed to unsubscribe when they wanted. These companies are also alleged to be cut-throat and aggressive in their approach.
As long as the complaints were on social media platforms and stray media report, these edtech firms could manage the situation. But when the government was threatening to step in with a regulatory policy, these companies understood that the proverbial bad word was ready to hit the ceiling.
What the edtech firms are up to?
The news from outside of India was also not encouraging for these edtech companies. Last year, neighbouring China came down hard on its top edtech firms. It banned edtech startups that teach the school curriculum from making profits, raising capital or going public. It was a bolt from the blue and some of the companies there had to fire thousands of its employees.
If China can overturn its policy upside down, why not India? It is this specific strain of disturbing thought that has impelled these firms to scurry for the cover of unity and the fig-leaf of self-regulation. For at stake is billions of dollars --- Indian edtech sector is growing at a rapid pace ever since study-form-home became a norm after the pandemic kicked in and regular schools were closed.
Indian edtech firms are coming together to cobble together a framework that will address the issues of misleading advertisements and shady business methods. As in the case of social media platforms, the edtech firms are also ready to set up a sturdy grievance redressal framework.
But can the edtech firms, which had so far conducted their business with the sole focus on profits, be trusted to ethically monitor themselves?
Obviously, it is a tough one to answer.
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