Oswaal Books, which publishes books and study materials for Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE), and Karnataka and Kerala Boards students, is planning to invest around Rs 5 crore in edtech start-ups in India.
Confirming this, Prashant Jain, CEO, Oswaal Books, said the education industry is growing at more than 13 per cent per annum and the edtech sector in particular is witnessing a lot of traction.
“Our company is considering investment of around Rs 5 crore in edtech start-ups that are not just passionate about their own offerings, but also about students’ learning.”
“We are looking for a platform where a student who wants to learn better or learn more will not be restricted by his or her geographical location, nor will he/she be solely dependent on their teachers. They should have access to thousands of free and paid resources where they can learn anything in a way that suits them,” Jain said.
The edtech start-ups have brought an evolution in the education sector as it is no longer rooted in the traditional process of disseminating knowledge via lectures followed by rote learning, he said, explaining,
“The edtech sector has popularised interactive and personalised learning through Machine Learning, an important application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) that helps educators to ascertain the learning style and abilities of students, thereby formulate effective lesson plans to boost their potential.”
Machine Learning and AI collect and analyse data, and interpret patterns through algorithms. It ensures that a student moves to the next lesson only after understanding the previous one.
This enables educationists to monitor students and assess the area in which they are weak, and make curriculum that enables them overcome problems. “Machine Learning combined with AI helps educators to simplify time-consuming tasks and lower errors,” he added.
Jain, however, said the traditional way of learning that makes use of textbooks and notebooks can never be discarded because they are of great help to younger ones, foundation for e-learning and a less distracting medium. For effective e-learning, students must have the maturity to select the best materials.
“The best way forward is a healthy mix of both the traditional and new way of learning with elearning material supplementing textbooks,” he said. Jain said Oswaal Books is not affected by the economic slowdown.
“We have grown 100 times in last 10 years. Last year, our sales grew 50 per cent. We like to believe this is because of our unmatched focus on students’ learning. For middle- and upperclass, education is a comfortable expense and their spending capacity on it is growing by more than 12 per cent YoY.”