“The recent rise in epidemics and pandemics necessitates that we are ready with alternative modes of quality education whenever and wherever traditional and in-person modes of education are not possible. In this regard, the National Education Policy 2020 recognizes the importance of leveraging the advantages of technology while acknowledging its potential risks and dangers.”- National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020)
The Covid-19 pandemic has dramatically changed – and disrupted – education as we know it. In an attempt to curb the spread of the virus, governments across the world temporarily closed schools, colleges, and university campuses, affecting more than 60% of the student population globally. In the wake of the pandemic, the Indian government introduced the NEP, 2020 with the vision to privatise and saffronise the country’s education system. One of the many tools in achieving that end is the shift to digital education as outlined in the NEP. The above quote is one of the many present in the document that emphasises on digital education. COVID-19 of course brought about the perfect opportunity to implement this insidious scheme destroying an education system that was already reeling under the onslaught of neoliberal reforms.
Since the pandemic, there has been a tremendous shift to virtual modes of learning with over 260 million students from India attending online classes everyday. Despite the numerous discussions and deliberations on the obvious ramifications of this gradual shift such as the hampered quality of education, social and emotional development, isolation of students, etc, there has been little to no conversation on the deeper, structural issue. While the Ministry of Education vaunts their aim of revolutionising and digitising education, according to OXFAM reports about 60% of Indian students don’t have access to smartphones, let alone an active internet connection. Only 8% of rural students have computers, mobile phones, and other devices. And even where everything is available, teachers often lack the technological training to conduct online classes effectively. While on one end of the spectrum economically disadvantaged students contend with overcrowded living conditions, lack of basic facilities, limited to no access to internet, grappling for their right to education, the uber wealthy/middle class households have a different battle.
According to a report by BARC India and Neilsen, there has been a 30% increase in the time spent on educational apps on smartphones. New and coming of age “Edtech” companies, like Byju’s, Unacademy, Aakash, Toppr, Vedantu etc., have become forerunners of virtual learning in India, worth billions. These companies not only violate a plethora of requirements, like vetted curriculum, adequate wages for the staff, and other UGC guidelines, but some of these companies are also estimated to be worth more than the entire educational budget of India.
The online courses offered by these companies are not remotely vetted by any appointed body, nor are their products verified. The enormous success of these companies is a result of over- exploitation of the employees as well as an extremely toxic work culture. This includes long working hours and abusive authorities as per allegations by many ex-employees. This sudden growth of such platforms can also be attributed to their predatory modus operandi and collusion with the concerned authorities. Through unethical and toxic sales tactics, customised based on the socio- economic status of different families, into taking up loans that leave them in debt even before their children graduate highschool. These companies have also conveniently formed partnerships with various loan sharks that facilitate the selling of their products to vulnerable parents. The sudden growth has also been followed by a slump now as employees in the order of thousands are laid off by Byju’s.
Most recently, a Bengaluru-based edtech company called GeekLurn, offering Data Science courses has defrauded thousands of students by raising educational loans in their names and misappropriating the sanctioned funds. According to the impacted students, under the agreement between the student and GeekLurn, the company was supposed to pay the instalments of the loan till the student got placed and was supposed to deposit the EMI of the loan in the student’s account as a ‘scholarship’. While the student claimed that GeekLurn made timely deposits initially, the company stopped the payments altogether two months later, leaving them with a loan from non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) like Aditya Birla Finance, LiquiLoans, Propelled etc. A similar modus operandi was found to be employed by another Bangalore-based agency called ‘CareerLabs’. Encouragingly, the students in both cases have united to bring to book the fraudulent companies rather than staying mum.
Such fraudulent online institutes, due to lack of monitoring by authorities, will keep exploiting families of vulnerable students as long as strict action isn’t taken. And that would mean rejecting the divisive and ineffective NEP 2020, And demanding transparency and accountability from the government as well as comprehensive reforms to ensure a secure learning environment for all.
