By Gouri Gupta,
Learning outcomes in India are a cause of great concern. Even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, research indicated that 55% children were unable to read or understand simple texts by the age of 10. These poor outcomes were exacerbated during the pandemic, with long school closures for a period of 18 months.
Around the same time, , the Indian EdTech industry noticed a boom with close to 10,000 companies, offering a bouquet of solutions aimed at tackling different parts of a student’s learning journey. EdTech products became a constant companion for private schools, government schools, and individuals. The use of EdTech by governments is backed by national mandates to implement technology solutions, such as digital initiatives under Samagra Shiksha and the National Education Policy 2020. Additionally, states are also able to implement individual programmes to implement technology to support teaching and learning. Examples can be seen in Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana, which have initiated large scale-EdTech programmes over the last two years. The future of government EdTech adoption looks promising, with over 24 states indicating an inclination to integrate some form of EdTech across -98,000 schools in FY 22-23, committing to spending more than USD 470 million (approx INR 389K crores).
States occupy a unique role in influencing the adoption of EdTech solutions, as they sit at the confluence of multiple stakeholders which includes the likes of the state machinery (comprising district officials, principals, teachers) hardware providers, software creators, civil society organisations, caregivers and academics. Through collaboration with these stakeholders, they are able to implement successful and at-scale programmes. Recent discourse highlights the importance and need to move away from a consumer facing model of EdTech (that only takes into account the needs of the end-user) to a more participatory model that includes the voice of implementers. The state is one of the few players with the centrality and ability to influence the ecosystem to turn towards such a participatory approach.
In order to mitigate the learning loss as an aftermath of COVID 19 pandemic, states will have to make sustained efforts to support children both in-school and at-home. The continued uptake and implementation of digital programmes is highly promising when it comes to reimagining interactions such as classroom instruction, doubt solving, homework and remediation. States will need to provide the highest quality of contextualised EdTech solutions in order to support and supplement in-classroom learning. Drawing on insights from CSFs past research and close interactions with state governments, some key considerations in implementing a successful, scalable and meaningful EdTech programme involve a carefully planned framework for state EdTech readiness. Some considerations include
Analyse the EdTech Readiness of the State: onducting a detailed baseline of existing hardware, software and teacher capacity is critical in building the foundations for effective EdTech solutions, both in school and at home. Building this capacity to understand the EdTech readiness can be done through existing channels such as U-DISE, which can be redesigned to capture essential metrics related to EdTech preparedness, such as the number of functioning computers, existing softwares being implemented, and number of devices being used on a weekly basis. Also important to track are metrics related to learning at-home, such as student and teacher registries with phone numbers and usage of solutions outside the classroom.
Needs assessment to identify program intervention: States should conduct a detailed diagnostic through interviews and secondary research to identify major challenges faced by students, teachers and administrators. For example, if a state observes consistently low learning levels in NAS, they may consider prioritising remediation through Personalised Adaptive Learning (PAL) labs.
Ascertain budgetary implications for different EdTech archetypes: Based on EdTech readiness, the state may consider EdTech models that meet its needs. As EdTech solutions vary depending on whether they are implemented in school or in a blended approach of school and home, states will need to plan for the appropriate budgetary requirements. For example, solutions that cater to one student at a time in-school usually come in the form of ICT labs with computers, and are more cost intensive than a 1:many solution that accommodates multiple students.
Establishing demo sites to allow for rapid iteration: Before large-scale implementation of an EdTech programme, it is important to understand if a solution will work in a particular context. Hence, there is a need for EdTech programmes to be tested and contextualised to specific state needs. Distinct from the proof-of-concepts that states currently undertake – lasting 2-3 weeks and aimed at solving any technical glitches – these demo sites should run for 4 to 6 months to allow for proper understanding and usage of the programme.
Selecting and procuring relevant hardware and software for the intervention: For a successful programme, the government needs to bring together hardware (devices), software (learning solutions) and ancillary infrastructure (connectivity, electricity, governance). A good example is the project the Government of Haryana (GoH) embarked on in 2021, to digitally empower public school students in Grades 10-12 by providing individual tablets with free internet data equipped with Personalized Adaptive Learning (PAL) software. In its procurement, the GoH made key decisions such as, the procurement of hardware and software being unbundled (separated), so that each service provider could be selected independently based on thorough evaluation of quality and contextual fit. Secondly, an evidence-driven approach was used for the selection of PAL software including performance on the EdTech Tulna quality standards for PAL, and assessment of organisational capabilities of working with governments.
Capacity building of all relevant stakeholders: States should not look at training for digital initiatives as a one-time activity, rather as a long-term plan that provides opportunities to regularly interact with technology solutions in a low-stakes setting and have an open channel for feedback. The Kerala Infrastructure and Technology for Education (KITE) initiative hosts a promising training management system that has dedicated access to training on digital initiatives and space for two-way feedback and communication.
Creating a robust monitoring framework for EdTech: Having strengthened monitoring systems in the EdTech readiness phase, states will need to deploy those systems to track regularity in usage and effectiveness of EdTech solutions and to map critical elements of the platform. Additionally, using solutions compliant with the National Digital Education Architecture (NDEAR) will allow for interoperability and standardisation of monitoring and reporting protocols.
The effective integration of technology into our classrooms and homes will require careful planning and investment from states.
For more information and research on EdTech readiness and planning refer to our recent report.
Disclaimer: (The author is project director, edtech at Central Square Foundation. Views are personal.)