Anant is the Co-founder of Zell Education. With over 10 years of professional experience backing his skills, Anant’s expert insights into the world of accounting & finance have contributed to the success of Zell. While pursuing his Chartered Accountancy and Company Secretary Anant’s vision shifted to help professionals and students learn the skills required in the practical work and ultimately at the sacrifice of his Chartered Accountancy, Zell was started. Under his leadership, Zell has expanded its Products, Operations and B2B sales which has helped the company reach new heights. His role was instrumental in developing the company’s Learning Management System called Nimbus. His leadership has also paved the way for Zell to generate key strategic partnerships across the country.
The latest government advisory issued on 23rd December 2021, for EdTechs has stirred up the atmosphere towards the sector and pushed it towards a much needed, regulated approach. EdTech Companies who were following unscrupulous practices have been cautioned about the way they force payments upon students and parents. There have been stricter guidelines implemented wherein EdTech companies have to follow particular protocols and norms to carry out their operations in an orderly manner.
On 1st October 2021, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Government of India (GoI) mandated that any payments above the authenticated limit of INR 5,000/- would require an additional security measure (OTP). Following its stance, many unscrupulous practices followed by EdTechs have been tracked down by the government and mandated that these EdTechs use fair payment and marketing methods to onboard customers. Students and parents have been asked to check about its legitimacy and quality. A few of the do’s and don’ts mentioned by the government on its advisory for EdTechs highlight the need for stricter watch on these companies.
Some of the key regulations are – Students and parents are advised to ask for a tax invoice statement for the purchase of educational devices loaded with contents/app purchase/Pen drive learning. They are advised to verify the quality of the content provided by these EdTech companies and ensure that it is in line with the syllabus and their scope of study and is easily comprehensible by students. They are cautioned from signing up for any loans of which they are not aware. Lastly, they are asked to avoid adding their data like emails, contact numbers, card details, addresses etc. online as the data may be sold or used for later scam attacks.
Quality teaching has been a concern for students across the country. However, EdTechs have revolutionized newer methods of learning and development and ensured that creativity is fostered within students across the nation. The NEP 2020 also highlights the need for online training to be at the forefront by allowing students to study degree programmes and a watchdog to keep a closer check on helping to build employability in India.
Through its press release on 23rd December 2021, the government has asked EdTechs to put in a slew of measures to ensure grievances faced by students and their parents are addressed by appointing a Grievance officer.
Talking about higher education, placements are a very important part of higher education dynamics. Many EdTech companies ensure that the students secure a well-paying job that can kick start their career. There is an evident line between displaying actual results along with the journeys of each student vs what a company is capable of, once the student joins them. Placements can be a very tempting hook and act as a decision maker for some students while enrolling themselves with an EdTech platform.
At an industry level, if every player abides by a code of conduct – it will overall improve the perceived industry sentiment. With this advisory, the government has put in a better regulated structure for the industry. This structure allows honest, fair companies to do their business better while putting a stop to the unfair, false practices conducted by certain businesses. It will be exciting to see how an industry that has grown so much over the years will go from here on now.