Industry Insights and Trends Driving the Education Industry The Indian education market has a huge potential as it is expected to almost double to $180 billion by 2020

Definition of the Education Industry: The Education Industry is composed of establishments that provide instruction and training on a wide variety of subjects. These institutions, including preschools, schools, colleges, universities and training/coaching centres, are either privately or publicly owned.

The scope of Investment in the Education Sector: Education is a must for every child, irrespective of the market trends, the basic education sector will keep growing because it is one of the necessities of life. Research shows that the Indian education sector, in terms of revenue, stood at $97.8 billion in 2016. FDI in the education sector in India: $1.4 billion (April 2000-Dec 2016). India has one of the world's largest higher education systems with enrollments of 33.3 million students in colleges, institutions, across 50,000+ higher education institutes and 750+ universities.

The School going population in India and the opportunity it provides:

Looking at the graph above it is visible that an increasing number of students are enrolling into schools today to get a formal education; this number is only going to grow exponentially over the years. Also according to the Census report of 2011, it is evident that there is a growing population in the 0-6years age bracket.

The Indian education market is expected to almost double to $180 billion by 2020, buoyed by the rapid expansion of the digital learning market and the world's largest population in the age bracket of 6 to 17 years in spite of this section being plagued by poor infrastructure and a shortage of trained teachers.

With this data we can establish that there is a huge opportunity in the education sector, however, we have to be mindful that traditional methods of teaching will no longer work. Education is no longer about rote-learning where only your memory is tested. Today holistic learning is the norm. Learning where children can apply what they learn in practical life is important. Also, Sports and Performing arts is an important part of education too. Parents have moved on from looking at just medicine and engineering fields as careers of children. A whole new world has opened up where children will pick jobs that were never heard off. Hence today educational institutes focus on training children on life skills, skills which will help children to survive the unknown future that awaits them.

As educators we need to keep track of the emerging trends and technological advancements in the education sector, some of the major trends to keep track of are:

1. Personalised learning:

Each child is unique and they have different interests and learning styles and focusing on them will help hone their talent and make them strong individuals. Hence schools should start shifting their focus towards personalising education for each child. For example, if a child is a visual learner – show him visuals to teach him concepts, if a child is an auditory learner – make him hear the concepts.

2. Integrated Learning:

Subjects cannot be taught in isolation any more, Also now subjects need to be taught with a global view. Schools need to move the focus to integrate subjects, combining English literature with maths, economics, geography etc. For E.g. While teaching Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in English language children can be taught maths, business, geography etc or while teaching them how to read a watch you can involve math concepts too. Teachers need to get innovative with their teaching methods.

3. Making Education Interactive:

Teaching young brains is an art, children retain more when learning is fun and stress-free. A crucial element in learning is that children should not be told that their way of thinking is wrong; instead, encourage them to build on insights in a positive way. Encourage them, show them the path and then let them explore the concepts and bring them on the right track if you see the student deviating, Basically, a teacher and the school environment today is more like a facilitator.

4. Adapting to new technological advancements:

Virtual Reality immerses the user in a virtual or imaginary environment. Immersive educational environments are already being used to provide learners with a life-like experience in subjects as diverse as history and chemistry. Thus enhancing the virtual learning experience, right from learning Shakespeare or the French revolution in what our classrooms need.

Gamification in Learning is another technological advancement to look out for. Children learn various concepts with the help of games. Instead of traditional rote learning, using video games and incorporating other game elements in education can motivate students to understand better and do well in their exams. As opposed to the traditional classroom learning set up, gamification cuts down boredom and increases their attention span.

5. Remote Proctored Assessments:

With the advancements in technology, today remote classrooms and assessments is another space to explore. Students can sit in India and attend a class in a university or school in the United States. This makes it easier for local players to bring international universities to India at an economical price point, which helps in brand building.

6. Franchising in the Education Sector:

With changing times and dynamics, Quality education is the need of the hour. We need to take schools far and wide in the country or across borders to increase our literacy levels and Franchising is one alternative to achieve that. Private players are now stepping into this space to multiple opportunities for growth. Also, there is a huge gap in the availability of educational institutes and the demand for education.