Edtech Sector: The edtech sector was the third highest-earning sector in 2021, but now suffering due to layoffs

Posted on 3rd Jun 2022 by rohit kumar

The EdTech sector in India emerged as the most funded sector in the year 2021. According to a report, this sector raised funds of $ 4.7 billion. However, the recent layoffs have worried experts that the sector was in a bubble all the time, which is now beginning to burst.

 

Stayed rich during Corona period

 

It is worth noting that the process of online learning that started after the onset of the Corona epidemic is continuing. There was a tremendous boom in this industry during the pandemic period. But now looking at the latest situation, experts think that the sector will have to refocus and change its business model. The report said that in the era of digitization, providing education with the help of technology has become a big business. This is the reason why this sector has grown rapidly in 2021.

 

Brainstorming the figures of four unicorns

 

The report churned out four unicorns over two years. Schools and colleges had to remain closed amid the growing outbreak of the Kovid-19 pandemic. Unacademy achieved a $1 billion valuation in 202o, while UpGrad, Vedantu, and Eruditus became unicorns in 2021. India's first edtech startup, Byju's, which is worth around $22 billion, is one of the most expensive startups in the country. Inspired by the success stories of these edtech startups, several new edtech startups have rapidly emerged in India over the years, taking the market size of the industry to nearly two billion dollars.

 

Experts said - had to announce a recession

 

However, the recent layoffs have worried experts. Aldo Mathews, Deputy Advisor, Unit for International Cooperation at the National Institute of Education Planning and Administration (NIEPA) in New Delhi, expressed his opinion that the edtech industry would grow as a support mechanism. But it can never replace classes. Mathews believes that the ed-tech startup sector should have predicted a slowdown after the corona pandemic subsided.

 

In this way, teachers were harmed

 

Talking about the current situation, in March 2022, 26-year-old Yashraj Singh Chauhan joined the online exam preparation platform Unacademy as a teacher on a three-month contract. They were told that if they met the target and got at least one million views, they would get an increase of 30 percent of their basic salary, along with an extension of the contract. After this, Chauhan, who has been coaching students for four years in his native city of Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh, got many of his existing students to sign up for Unacademy, but only two months later he received an email from the company, informing that his Services are no longer needed.

 

1400 teachers out at the beginning of the year

 

Yashraj Chauhan is among over 1,400 teaching and non-teaching employees who have been fired by Indian edtech companies since the beginning of this year. In May, the online tutoring platform Vedantu laid off around 425 employees, which is seven percent of its total workforce. Just a few weeks later, it fired another 200 employees. In February, Lido, which provides online classes to school students, laid off 1,200 employees. On May 13, WhiteHat Junior, owned by Byju's, was suddenly asked to resign to no avail after nearly 800 teachers were asked to resume work from the office.

 

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