IAMAI forms India EdTech Consortium to set standards for ed-tech startups, address customer grievances

The Internet and Mobile association of India has formed the India EdTech Consortium (IEC) which will focus to ensure that every learner has access to quality and affordable education, which not only improves their academic performance but also makes them future-ready. 

EdTech entities such as Byju’s, Careers 360,Classplus, Doubtnut, Great Learning, Harappa, Times Edutech & Events Ltd, Scaler, Simplilearn, Toppr, Unacademy, upGrad, UNext Learning, Vedantu & WhiteHat Jr have joined the consortium.  

“The move to set up IEC comes at a time when Indian EdTech players are creating immense value for the global audience. The disruptions led by the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns compelled both parents and educational institutions to implement tech-enabled learning solutions, thereby accelerating the growth of the EdTech sector,” said an IAMAI statement.  

“The overall Indian EdTech ecosystem impacts over 500 million school students, college students and working professionals across India. At this scale, it is critical that the ecosystem follows a framework that will protect the rights of our learners and all EdTech companies are committed to this,” the association added.  

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“IAMAI and members of the India EdTech Consortium (IEC) are deeply committed to ensuring ethical standards to protect learners on online educational platforms. IEC seeks to empower the learners by not just helping them make informed decisions but by also having their grievances redressed timely. The formation of this self-regulatory body is an important step towards protecting learners as more and more students, teachers and stakeholders are becoming a part of the online education ecosystem,” said, Subho Ray, President, Internet and Mobile Association of India.  

“We are completely aligned with the Government's principles on safeguarding consumer interests and welcome the creation of guidelines that help students reach their learning goals in a manner that makes them future ready and conceptually strong. We have always believed that the student should be at the center of the education system and as educators we must do everything possible to create the right set of processes and methods to empower and enhance their learning," said, Divya Gokulnath, Co- founder of Byju’s.  

“As part of the newly institutionalized IEC, we will build a sounder and more ethical ecosystem for students so that we can ensure their safety and mitigate any risks they may encounter in their journey to be future-ready,” said Vamsi Krishna, Co-Founder & CEO, Vedantu.  

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According to IAMAI, adaptive learning solutions have ensured that learners are not merely ‘knowledge receivers’ but ‘knowledge creators’ as well. The sector has also created large number of employment opportunities. However, as the sector and end users grow at a fast pace, it is critical to establish a standard code of conduct for all Indian EdTech entities to adhere to and ensure that ‘learners’ remain at the core of all the business practices.