Quality education is right here for the kids, just go digital

By Srinivesh Tanukula

Quality education has always remained the talk of the country for decades now. All parents want their wards to attain the best possible education and arm them with the right knowledge to take on the world. But quality education is not available through a magic wand, it needs meticulous planning, appropriate sensitization how those young minds should be conditioned and a sustainable futuristic approach. In theory this sounds perfect but the reality of the education scenario of the country worry those concerned.

If you take a close look at the field of education in our country today, the problems plaguing it at different levels are still the same; lack of qualified teachers, paucity of schools, infrastructure and education material. The government spends a measly 3.17 percent of GDP on education as measured by the World Bank in 2011. Along with this, the lack of qualified professionals means that private schools have become exorbitantly expensive. Even then, the competition for limited classroom space is intense among parents seeking the best for their children. This particular autorickshaw driver in Mumbai made me feel old when he told me his kid’s annual school fees was Rs 40,000. I used to pay 800 bucks a month for the same in one of the better schools in Hyderabad.

Schooling is only part of the complete picture. Parents enroll their kids in tuitions, classes for music, sports etc. And beyond the metros especially, this sort of skilled expertise is even more difficult to access and afford. Several ventures have identified these gaps in education and are moving forward with widely differing models. Entrepreneurs, NGOs, privately funded professionally-run initiatives are pouring in significant resources.

A close examination at education in the digital space, whether it is online study with interactive resources, live classrooms, retail of digital courses or supplementary material, several options would pop out in the cyberspace. One such recent effort has been the launch of Live Chats with Subject Experts for all classes (I-XII) by Topperlearning. Within a week of its launch, over 600 queries have been addressed by their in-house academic experts. This is specially meant to cater to students who might not have access to teachers in the run-up to their exams; as schools typically schedule study breaks just before the exams. Students can log on and post their questions to these academic experts who will respond with solutions, clarifications and even advice in real-time from the comfort of their homes. And this is available absolutely free!

“It is our constant ongoing endeavour at Topperlearning to provide quality learning resources to students in an easy and user-friendly manner. With the launch of Live Chat with Subject Experts, we hope to bridge the gap in access to quality learning resources during the critical time of exam preparations,” said Greycells18, CEO, Garima Chaudhry.

Several other approaches are being tried out; some based on successes abroad, such as the fabled Khan Academy and the success of MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) such as Coursera, Open Courseware etc. Another notable success from India is TutorVista, which started out by connecting tutors to students at home; video chat taken to another level!

While they may differ in the products they provide to end consumers, one advantage becomes clear: the ability of the internet to service end users in their home, at their convenience and at all times. No longer do parents have to worry about their child getting the right guidance. The ability of these ventures to scale up in terms of user base and lower their cost of infrastructure and customer access means that significant resources are invested in producing quality content. Signing up ones children for these eliminates the headache of finding tutors and supplementary coaching.

Live classes, digital textbooks, interactive study resources, access to study expertise etc, to name a few can all be considered highly relevant to solving a lot of needs of both parents and children. In the long term, such initiatives will enable children to become more independent and self-disciplined when it comes to learning. At the same time, it also allows students to learn at their own pace, in a comfortable manner without having to worry about keeping up in class. And parents, your local tutor can’t hold you to ransom either! So help your children log in to a better tomorrow.

Click here to know more about Topperlearning . To check out the Live Chat with Subject Experts, click here .

Disclosure: Topper Learning is a part of Network18 Media & Investments Ltd., which also owns Firstpost.