By Prateek Kumar Singh and Arushi Jain
If Online gaming is one end of the spectrum, online education is the other.
Online education has been one of the hotspots in the tech world this year. E-learning tools are filing the gaps arising from closed schools, closed offices, social distancing and more time on our hands at home because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
India is emerging as the new unicorn destination for EdTech. With one of the youngest demography in the world, between 5-24 years is your thriving market for education and now, EdTech. Penetration of technology in Tier II cities, the low teacher-student ratio, poor quality of education started surfacing and along came the significant growth of Ed-tech startups. Indian parents, also impose a significant importance on eduction as a means to a commercially better life. The Reports of Red Seer and Omidyar Network India indicates, the user base in K-12 (standard 1-12) and post K-12 (post school) has doubled from 45 million in 2019 to 90 million in 2020. By 2022,[1] Which is not really too far, as COVID is likely to ensure that all glide into 2021 and that will leave just one year to hit that figure.
Bangalore-based online learning startup Unacademy, the Facebook-backed firm, announced a $150 million raised in a new financing round. It valued it at $1.45 billion (post-money).
We are taking a look at what companies are navigating in the regulatory and business model regime to put India on the EdTech map. In our subsequent attempts, we are going to examine the different business model, the consolidation and other activities in the sector, making it an outlier.
Evolution of EdTech in India
This is the beginning to disruption in the Higher Education space. Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), virtual classrooms, distance education, and online job searches. The internet first became part of the Indian education ecosystem in the form of online searches for school and college projects. Then came distance learning and online test administration. Later, hybrid study models incorporating videos, online course materials, and study groups blurred the line between “conventional” and online education In the post K-12 segment Ed-Tech can be divided into two categories i.e. one that is administered by Higher Educational Instituions (“HEI”) offering Undergraduate and Postgraduate courses and other is vocational, skill-devlopment and MOOCs offered by private ed-tech players.
Laws applicable on HEI:
- University Grants Commission (Online Courses or Programmes) Regulations, 2018 (“Online Education Regulations”);
- University Grants Commission (Open and Distance Learning Programmes and Online Programmes) Regulations, 2020 the (“ODL”);
- University Grants Commission (Credit Framework For Online Learning Courses through SWAYAM) Regulations, 2016; and
- The National Education Policy, 2020.
UGC has no jurisdiction over global universities who continued to enrol over 1 million Indian students annually in various courses.
A. These Regulations confer recognition to degrees, diplomas and certificates offered by Universities, Institutions deemed to be Universities in an online medium, to students in India. These are set to aid the transformation and optimization of traditional Universities.
i. The regulations prohibit offering of courses or programmes in the technical field of engineering, law, medicine, dental, pharmacy, nursing, architecture, physiotherapy, applied arts.
B. HEI and University are defined under the UGC Act-
a. HEI is a university covered under clause (f) of section 2 (of the UGC Act) an institution deemed to be a university under section 3 of the Act, which imparts higher education or research by means of conducting regular classes or through Open and Distance Learning systems or through online education system; and
b. University means a University established or incorporated by or under a Central Act, a Provincial Act or a State Act, and includes any institution which in consultation with the University concerned, be recoginsed as University by the Commission in accordance with the regulations for this under the UGC Act.
C. The criteria for being HEI include –
a. demonstrated capability for developing and production of online courses and programmes;
b. with technology for production including in-house or duly out-sourced production facilities;
c. having access to SWAYAM for learner authentication (i.e. integration with Aadhar or other government recognised identity for Indian students and passport for foreign students), registration, payment gateway and Learning Management System.
An HEI, is eligible to offer only those degree programmes at undergraduate and postgraduate levels and post graduate diploma programmes, which it has already been offering in conventional mode of classroom teaching or in Open and Distance Learning mode and from which at least one batch has passed out.
D. SWAYAM, acronym for Study Webs of Active-Learning for Young Aspiring Minds
SWAYAM programme is one of the many initiatives taken up by Government of India to promote online learning.
a. It is a direct attempt to bridge the digital gap for students who have remained untouched to digital revolution. It facilitates all courses from class 9 to post-graduation, anywhere at any time.
b. In post graduate segment the coordinating government bodies and colleges involved are, National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL), All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), UGC and IIM Bengaluru.The regulations ease norms for online courses/programmes:
HEI having NAAC score 3.26 and above or having rank in Top-100 in University category of NIRF, at least twice in three preceding cycles (at the time of application), shall be permitted to start full-fledged online programmes without prior approval of the UGC.
HEI can have maximum 3 UG courses and 10 PG courses.
E. HEI offering online courses and programmes shall fulfill following conditions:
a. shall be in existence for at least three years
b. shall be accredited by the NAAC with minimum score of 3.01 on a 4-point scale; or
c. shall be in the top-100 in University category in the NIRF
F. Online Courses have to comply with the following:
a. Delivery through SWAYAM portal, UGC may approve other portals after due verification;
b. Four quadrant approach i.e. e-tutorial, e-content, e- web resources and self-assessment;
c. Online counselling process, fee payment and application processing;
d. HEI have to upload mandatory self-disclosure for courses offered and undergo third party academic audit every two years and internal quality audit every year.
G. Transfer of Credits:
a. Massive open Online Courses (MOOCs) are made available online on SWAYAM Platform. These courses are developed by host institutions and any student enrolled in any other parent institution Institution/College/University where the student is enrolled permanently or as part-time student) can also pursue these courses.
b. A credit course is a subject which lasts atleast for one semester. An institution can allot maximum of 40% of the total credit of total courses being offered in a particular program in a Semester through the online learning courses provided through SWAYAM platform.
c. The parent Institution is required to give equivalent credit weightage to the students for the credits earned through online learning courses through SWAYAM platform in the credit plan of the program.
H. Duration for Certification
a. For Online certificate courses and programmes: minimum of six months’ duration would have a minimum (20) twenty credits.
b. For online Diploma courses and programmes: of minimum of one year duration would have minimum (40) forty credits.
c. For online degree courses and programmes: same duration and for the same credits as specified by the UGC under Choice Based Credit System (CBCS). However, the maximum duration for completing the Online Course or programme should be double the minimum duration of the course or programme or as laid down by the UGC from time to time.
I. The National Education Policy, 2020, lays down:
a. Appropriate agencies and institutes will be identified by GOI for conducting pilot study of integrating education with online education;
b. Investment and creation of interoperable and evolving public digital infrastructure in education sector;
c. Extension of e-learning platforms like SWAYAM for monitoring the progress of the learners. These platforms will also be used for creation of virtual labs so that students have equal access to quality practical and hands on experience;The new policy proposes to create an autonomous body, the National Educational Technology Forum (NETF), to provide a platform for the free exchange of ideas on the use of technology to enhance learning, assessment, planning, administration, and so on, both for school and higher education.[2]
d. It aims to create Academic Banks of Credit. This will monitor the knowledge of the subjects and these credits can be used to redeem certificates, degrees or diplomas from HEI.
J. Additional laws Private Ed-Tech players have to consider in India:
a. Privacy Law: Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019 mandates, institutions to have an age verification process and a mechanism for seeking parental consent for collection of minor’s personal data. In case of non-compliance with this provision, the Personal Data Bill proposes substantial monetary penalties on the entity in breach. The EdTech companies will have to comply with this.
Till then, compliance with Information Technology Act, 2000 and its Rules, more specifically, the rules on “Information Technology (Reasonable security practices and procedures and sensitive personal data or information) Rules, 2011 remain appliable. If the edtech platforms also cater to students based abroad (especially in US or EU) then the data protection laws of such jurisdictions will also apply to such edtech companies.
b. The recent Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020 propose certain compliances on e-commerce entities regarding payment methods, refunds, advertising standards etc. Edtech companies providing or facilitating services for a fee would be considered “e-commerce entities” and must comply with the provisions of the E-Commerce Rules. The entities whether, providing IT platform on digital/electronic network to facilitate transactions between sellers and buyers or inventory based (owns the inventory of goods/services and sells such goods/services directly to the consumers; curate own courses and sell directly) are a marketplace[3]
Exeption: Platforms which offer services for free are exempted from the applicability of these rules because definition of services in the Act does not include the rendering of any service free of charge.
However, questions remain on the treatment of platforms that operate on a freemium model or provide a combination of free services with paid upgrades.Contract Law: Under Indian laws, minors (i.e. individuals below the age of 18) are not competent to enter into binding contracts. Therefore, the edtech service providers need to ensure that they enter into appropriate binding documentation with the parents or legal guardians.
c. The Contracts that an EdTech will have to investigate are:
– Intellectual Property (IP) Assignment Agreements
– Confidentiality and Non-Disclosure Agreement
– IP License Agreement
d. FDI Regulations: FDI regulations, for investing in the sector in India, protection of proprietary software/technology, accreditation of certificates proposed to be issued by the EdTech service providers and tax considerations.
K. Policies: Policies and procedures to ensure safety and wellbeing of the users. Prevention of cyber-bullying, monitoring content for material not suitable for minors, ensuring protection of students from cyberattacks or phishing scams, screening of teachers/ instructors/ content creators, etc. becomes the responsibility of the edtech companies.
[1] https://yourstory.com/2020/07/india-edtech-market-17b-2022-redseer-omidyar-network#:~:text=A%20report%20by%20RedSeer%20and%20Omidyar%20Network%20India%20has%20mapped,45%20million%20to%2090%20million.
[2] https://www.mhrd.gov.in/sites/upload_files/mhrd/files/NEP_Final_English_0.pdf
[3] Information Technology (Intermediaries Guidelines) Rules, 2011 applicable