Skip to main content

Online Education in India: Trends & Future Prospects

https://www.shiksha.com/mba/articles/online-education-in-india-trends-future-prospects-blogId-14763

With the development of technology, India has witnessed an enhanced acceptance of online education over a period of few years. Many students and working professionals have joined different e-learning platforms in the past few years in order to enhance their skills. And, looking at trends, the number of people adopting online education platforms is expected to increase significantly in the near future.
As per a recent report released by KPMG India and Google, Online Education in India: 2021, the market for online education in India is expected to witness a magnificent growth of eight times in the next five years, i.e., from USD 247 million in 2016 to USD 1.96 billion in 2021. Such high growth in online education market is projected to be the outcome of increased number of paid online education users from 1.57 million in 2016 to 9.5 million in 2021.
So, as the market for e-learning is predicted to grow multiple times in the coming years, let us see some emerging trends in Indian online higher education system.
Emerging Trends in Indian Online Higher Education System
India has one of the largest higher education systems in the world. It mainly consists of three parts – university, college, and course. And, all parts of the higher education system are governed by the University Grants Commission and its professional councils.
According to KPMG report, online higher education in India is at an early stage of development and has witnessed emergence of different private universities offering UG and PG e-learning courses to students. However, as compared to graduation and diploma courses, the demand for online higher education is dominated by post-graduation courses such as MBA and MCA (as evident in the graph below).
Online Education in India: Trends & Future Prospects
Source: KPMG Report: Online Education in India: 2021
Also, have a look at the kind of courses adopted by students and working professionals in tier 1 and tier 2 cities. 
Online Education in India: Trends & Future Prospects
Source: KPMG Report: Online Education in India: 2021
As is evident in the graph above, tier 1 cities have higher adoption of different types of PG courses such as MBA, MCA, MTech, and BEd/ MEd. However, in tier 2 cities there is a high demand for only those courses that can offer lucrative job opportunities to students such as MBA and MCA.
Test Prep through Online Education
As the KPMG report states, number of students adopting online platforms for test preparation is expected to increase significantly in coming years. The different online platforms could either act as a substitute or complement to the existing offline test prep market to provide coaching to students for various exams such as JEE Main, NEET, CAT, Bank PO, and CLAT. It is projected that the category of test prep will grow at a CAGR of 64% in 2021.
Many new players have emerged in the online test prep market which are launching exam-specific mobile applications for students. Apart from that, lack of good faculty in tier 2 and 3 cities is also driving candidates from these areas to adopt online platforms for exam preparation.
Online Education in India: Trends & Future Prospects
Source: KPMG Report: Online Education in India: 2021
As is evident in the graph above, there is a higher adoption rate for job focused test prep (such as for Bank PO, GMAT/ MBA, and other government services) courses in tier 1 cities. On the other hand, in tier 2 cities, candidates are more inclined towards taking online test prep for UG courses (related to streams such as Engineering, Medical, and Law).
Ways in which online education helps candidates prepare efficiently for different competitive exams are as follows:
• Webinar: A seminar conducted in the online mode is referred to as a webinar. These days many online players conduct webinars that help candidates in conceptual clarity.
• Mock tests: Mock tests are emerging as a popular course component for students wherein they participate in a series of tests and get a comparative assessment (with other students) of their performance. With mock tests, candidates also get to know their areas of improvement as well as test pattern of the competitive exam they are planning to appear for.
• Videos: Videos are helpful for candidates in solving exam papers and other problem areas.
• Counselling: As a differentiator, players in online test prep market have also started offering course and career counselling services to students.
Online Education: Why it is Gaining Popularity
As per KPMG report, there are many reasons why students and working professionals are moving towards e-learning/ online education. Have a look at some such reasons below:
• Internet penetration: India has an internet penetration of about 31% today, which means 409 million internet users. It is predicted that by 2021, there will be nearly 735 million internet users in India, which will lead to increase in traffic for online education players.
• Smartphone penetration: Currently, there are 290 million smartphone users in India and the user base is expected to grow with the addition of another 180 million new users by 2021.
• Flexibility of time: This is specifically true for working professionals who have time constraints in pursuing an offline course. Pursuing a course in online mode allows a person to multi-task with other work and family commitments.
• Quality education: There are areas in India where there is lack of quality offline education. For instance, states such Bihar, Kerala as well as Jammu and Kashmir account for about four lakh distance education enrollments, states KPMG report.
• Immediate results: Online education allows candidates to get immediate results for any test that they appear for. This further helps them in preparing for exams more efficiently.
• Government initiatives: Government’s recent initiatives such as SWAYAM, e-Basta, and Digital India is expected to strengthen the infrastructure needed by students to pursue education in online mode.
• Study material: A variety of online study material in the form of videos and texts are encouraging students to adopt online education platforms.
• Affordability: Online courses joined at UG or PG level are much more affordable than traditional programmes as depicted in the image below.
Online Education in India: Trends & Future Prospects
Source: KPMG Report: Online Education in India: 2021

Online Education: Future Prospects
Looking at the current trends, it is expected that online higher education market will witness considerable growth in the next five years and aid in distance learning programmes. However, since these courses are limited to theoretical content currently, adoption of virtual classroom concepts could bring a practical component in the online medium.
Apart from that, more number of students, especially from tier 2 and 3 cities are expected to adopt different online channels to prepare for competitive exams. This is considering the limited options available for offline test preparation at these places.
Hybrid model is expected to gain traction in future, where online players are expected to open offline centres to provide classroom-like experience to students. Also, gamification, the approach of introducing fun elements like video game design in learning, is likely to gain popularity in India. As per the report, some players have already started entering the space in order to enhance engagement of learners.
Also Read:

Related Articles

 

Discussion Board

Write a Comment
 
Find insights & recommendations on colleges and exams that you won't find anywhere else
Sign Up & Get Started
On Shiksha, get access to
  • 12kColleges
    •  
  • 315Exams
    •  
  • 44kReviews
    •  
  • 500kAnswers

Learn more about...

 
 
 

Exams you may be interested in


Comments

Suhail Khan said…
India’s 18 National Law Universities (NLUs) rotationally conduct the national level Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) for the aspirants willing to make careers in the legal services. The CLAT 2018 exam will be conducted by the National University of Advanced Legal Studies (NUALS), Ernakulam. Students will appear in this combined test to secure enrollment in reputed law colleges/universities in the country which use CLAT score for admission cutoff list.

http://www.careerconvey.com/exam/clat/
April 16, 2018 at 4:22 AM
SUBHASHIS said…
Thank you Mr Suhail Khan for your inputs.
April 29, 2018 at 1:05 AM
Anonymous said…
Thank you for sharing information.

Admission Open at Best MBA College in Chandigarh for 2019-2020 Session.

Aryans Group of Colleges, Chandigarh

Courses offer B.Tech, LL.B, BA-LL.B,B.Com-LL.B,MBA, BBA, BCA, BA, B.COM, B.Ed, B.Sc(Hons)Agriculture,Diploma in Agriculture, MA(Education), PGDM, GNM, ANM, Polytechnic Diploma, B.Pharma and D.Pharma.

For details visit website : www.aryans.edu.in or contact at 98762-99888, 98765-99888


Hey you can add Aryans Group of Colleges in your List

it stands among B.Tech College in Chandigarh Recommendation
November 10, 2018 at 10:47 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Top 10 Analytics Courses in India

http://analyticsindiamag.com/top-6-analytics-courses-in-india/ The demand for trained analytics professionals has witnessed a massive growth in recent years. The dearth of skilled manpower can be overcome with serious intervention at the education level and imparting training on specific Analytical and statistical tools. This goes to say that training in Analytics is of foremost importance to match the ever growing demand and dearth in supply. Yet, there is a severe dearth of good training programs in the field. In this article, Analytics India Magazine investigates nine courses on Analytics being offered by premier institutes of India. Certificate Programme in Business Analytics – ISB, Hyderabad ISB is offering a one year Certification in Business Analytics with an aim to create Next generation Data Management Scientists. The programme is designed on a schedule that minimizes disruption of work and personal pursuits. The program is a combination of classroom and Technology
14 comments
Read more

Marketing and Distribution Channels of Britannia

Marketing and Distribution Channels of Britannia – Britannia Marketing Blog (wordpress.com)   Marketing channels are sets of interdependent organisations participating in the process of making a product or service available for use or consumption Role of marketing channels Channel function and flows A marketing channel performs the work of moving goods from producers to consumers. Key channel member functions include gathering information about current customers,competitors and external forces. Place order to manufacturers, assume risk connected with carrying channel work, provide for buyer’s payments and negotiations. Various intermediaries in distribution process Channel levels Channel distribution of Britannia biscuits Britannia’s biscuits like goodday, marie gold, bourbon, tiger, treat, nutrichoice, 50-50, milk bikis, etc can be seen in any grocery store, retail store or supermarket. It is through its extensive distribution with the help of stockiest, wholesaler and retailer that B
Post a Comment
Read more

Spirits of Estonia

  http://www.inyourpocket.com/estonia/tallinn/Spirits-of-Estonia_56060f 1 For some of our readers, vodka might just be some colorless liquid that tastes like rubbing alcohol but goes great mixed in a cocktail. In Estonia however, hard liquor is pretty serious stuff.  Spirits can be made from many raw materials including grapes, potato, and grain. These days in Estonia the vast majority of vodka is made using high quality rye grain. First the raw material is fermented using yeast, which creates a weak alcohol or mash. Next this product is distilled creating a much stronger alcohol. Finally the impurities are filtered off, and water is added to bring the percentage from about 96 to about 40.And that is how you make vodka! Of course there is much to be said about quality and it certainly varies from brand to brand. The world’s best vodkas are made from the finest grains, the purest waters, multiple distillation & special filtration techniques.    A little history   Alcohol wa
Post a Comment
Read more