‘Edupreneurs contribute towards a rapidly changing education sector’

Pavan Chauhan, Founder and MD, Meritnation.com 

With the rising Internet penetration in our country, edupreneurs or education entrepreneurs are venturing into the space of online learning to impart valuable knowledge to the Gen-Y’ers. Pavan Chauhan, Founder and MD, Meritnation.com shares his views behind this concept in India and how it’s helping the student community. 
Excerpts from the interview:
How big is the scope for edupreneurs in India?
The education sector in India has seen a revolution in the way knowledge is imparted. Entrepreneurs who have made inroads into the education sector are fast contributing to a rapidly changing education sector. The increasing demand for quality education and the willingness to spend on education by the middle class is rapidly changing the landscape of the education sector.
The rise of online learning has been an interesting game changer in this aspect. Today, more and more entrepreneurs are stepping into the online education market with ideas that leverage pedagogical expertise with technology, providing a fresh, new approach towards how studying and knowledge gaining is perceived. With the internet becoming a comfortable necessity in our lives, the potential for education entrepreneurs is limitless. Students are becoming tech-friendly at an increasingly earlier age and hence form a huge base for realising entrepreneurial opportunities.
The need of the hour is to have edupreneurs who have the vision to make education more meaningful for students. So if edupreneurs dream of making a difference to this sector by being potential change agents, it is important to focus on creating value for the students –the money will follow.
What have been the primary challenges for the entrepreneurs?
The education sector is complex. The choices, influences and decisions interplay in various combinations. This sector is also constantly evolving, mirroring the socio-economic changes in the consumer. For example, in the K-12 online learning space in which we operate, the ‘consumer’ is the student, while the ‘customer’ in the lower grades is the parent, and in the higher grades it could be the parent or the student. Taking along all the stakeholders – students, parents and teachers – and creating value for all, appears to be by far the biggest challenge.
Poor internet and broadband penetration in the smaller towns continues to pose a big challenge for edupreneurs in the online space.
Finally, the ability of edupreneurs to create sustainable change lies in their ability to create financially viable models. Unless an edupreneur gets the right kind of funding, sustaining the initiative might be a challenge.
How well is this adopted by the student community?
Students in urban areas form the maximum chunk of subscribers using online education as a means to supplement their learning. According to the IAMAI report (2012) a whopping 21% of the subscribers belong to the student community. With several entrance exams either switching to or experimenting with the online mode, students have responded favourably to learning from videos and taking online tests. Online preparation is effective not only in terms of money but also time and effort.
What is the role of an edupreneur in bringing a 360 degree change in how education is perceived? 
An edupreneur plays a very important role in changing how education is perceived. Resistance to change is inevitable. Edupreneurs must be able to effectively advocate the need for change and help create an environment conducive to innovation and effective learning.
In Meritnation we have successfully leveraged technology to provide a meaningful learning environment for the students. Getting an opportunity to make available quality education to students in the remotest corners of the country is the single biggest change effected by online education.
This is also helping to gradually change the perception that quality education is accessible only to students residing in urban towns & cities.
How are educational institutions reacting to this change? 
Schools are gradually warming up to the idea of using technology to make the teaching-learning process more effective. Customised attention made possible using technology, ease of conducting assessments, effective monitoring of individual student progress and that of the class as a whole, using the ‘classroom’ time more effectively for discussions and other student-let learning initiatives –are only some of the various things facilitated by edupreneurs in the online space.