Tech is not going to replace teachers anytime soon’
As a founder, an angel investor
and a mentor, Zishaan Hayath is a prominent figure in the
Indian entrepreneurial ecosystem. After graduating from IIT-Bombay in 2005,
Hayath worked with ITC and Opera Solutions. In April 2008, he co-founded a
phone commerce marketplace, Chaupaati Bazaar, which was acquired by Future
Group in 2010. While working for the new entity, he came up with the idea a
learning app after realising that students spent enormous amounts of money on
coaching classes. Toppr, founded with fellow IIT alumnus Hemanth Goteti in
2013, is a freemium app — the content is free for a limited period after which
students pick a paid plan. Toppr has three million registered students in
classes 5-12. Hayath has mentored startups such as Ola and Chaayos, and runs
angel investment group Powai Lake Ventures. He tells TOI why he thinks only
ed-tech can reach India’s thousands of students
Most Indian ed-tech startups
focus on students preparing for competitive exams, while those in other markets
cater to mid-career professionals or teach coding. What is the reason?
In many countries, the availability and effectiveness
of school education is better than our country. We have a lot of children who
need to learn but very few teachers and schools. The difference that technology
can make in school learning in India is much greater. In other parts of the
world, the maximum value for learning is perhaps in skilling those with a
strong foundation. Ed-tech in India is vastly underserved. Anecdotally, less
than 10% of school-going children have tried any method of learning using
technology.
How do you perceive India’s
ed-tech space compared with mature markets?
There are more than 400 million school-age students
in India. Conventional learning is ill-equipped to cater to such a large
number. As per a report by Google and KPMG, the ed-tech industry in India is
expected to grow 8x between 2016 and 2021 to $2 billion, making it the fastest
growing market in the world. As technology gets better, the role of teachers
will change to facilitators for more effective learning, driven and delivered
by learning app ecosystems.
Do you think apps will
eventually replace real teachers?
There is this constant and misguided thought of
technology as a replacement for teachers. Technology acts in one of two ways.
One, it helps students in ways that teachers alone would not be able to, for
example, on Toppr experts solve doubts for students at 4am, unthinkable without
the platform. Two, technology amplifies the effect of teachers. A good teacher
can now reach millions of students where he was earlier limited to the seats in
his classroom. While technology will help more kids learn better with less
dependence on teachers, a teacherless future is very far away.
How much time does a user spend
on ed-tech apps?
Publicly quoted numbers for usage on online learning
platforms vary from 10-20 minutes on global apps like Khan Academy and Coursera
and 40-50 minutes on local ones like Byju’s. On Toppr, a user spends about 90
minutes a day. Younger students tend to spend more time with videos and passive
learning modes. Older students spend more time on active learning, such as
problem solving and clearing doubts.
What are the challenges you
foresee?
The biggest challenge is going to be reaching out to
the vast number of students. Online learning platforms are not an automatic
choice for students and parents.
While e-tailers are battling it
out on customer service and product selection, what are ed-tech companies doing
to set themselves apart?
E-commerce companies are like storefronts for other
brands. Hence, product selection and transactional experience is all they can
improve. Ed-tech is a “full stack” business. We own what the customers get, how
they get it and there is one brand that represents the relationship. This
long-term relationship is the enabler for customer happiness.
John.Sarkar@timesgroup.com
TOI 1APR18
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