Covid supported adoption of online learning in India

In India, it offers educational content in English, Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, Gujarati, Punjabi and plans to add more regional languages going forward. Its goal is to make sure that nine out of 10 students in India should be able to learn in their own language.

Swati Vasudevan, Managing Director, Khan Academy India in an exclusive interview with Bizz Buzz, says, “Online learning has introduced a lot of changes in terms of how students and teachers access education. Students and teachers are using technology with a lot more ease that supported the adoption of edtech in government schools. Overall, we are very happy to see a broad level of acceptance from the authorities and the users in classroom. That said, this is just the beginning, and we anticipate a transformational journey of how technology can improve learning experience and enable teachers and students in the classroom and beyond”

How is the use of edtech going in government schools, which make up the majority of the school sector?

The adoption of technology improved the implementation of online education in government schools. It is heartening to see that online learning was not just limited to the Covid days during school closures. Government schools realized the potential of edtech during the period and they are consistently investing in building infrastructure that can support online learning. In our experience, State partners from Punjab, UP, Maharashtra, among other States are in the forefront of technology adoption and making sure that online learning continues along with classroom room. Online learning also introduced a lot of changes in terms of how students and teachers access education. Students and teachers are using technology with a lot more ease that supported the adoption of edtech in government schools. Overall, we are very happy to see a broad level of acceptance from the authorities and the users in classroom. That said, this is just the beginning, and we anticipate a transformational journey of how technology can improve learning experience and enable teachers and students in the classroom and beyond.

One problem with edtech is that most schools don't have enough resources in their own language. How are you addressing it?

At Khan Academy, we are committed to making learning content available in regional languages so that anyone can learn in their preferred language. This is certainly a challenge in India because we have significantly higher number of regional languages across the States. In the last few years, we started working with State partners like Punjab and Maharashtra to localize our content so that students can learn in their native language. There are several more projects in the pipeline with more State partners and our regional content library will consistently grow in the coming years. Most importantly, any student can access world class learning content in their own language completely free of cost. We currently have our content available in English, Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, Gujarati and Punjabi and will continue to add more regional languages going forward. Our goal is to make sure that nine out of 10 students in India should be able to learn in their own language.

Khan Academy has been into digital learning long before the pandemic. What advantage did you have because of that?

It is safe to say that the pandemic supported the adoption of online learning in India and helped in the discovery process of Khan Academy. A lot more people now know about Khan Academy because they were looking for reliable platforms to learn during the pandemic and found our platform. Also, there were no barriers to entry as anyone can learn from our platform at free of cost. We were also successful in working with many State governments during the pandemic. Two of our main government partners during school closures were the government of Delhi and UP government. We partnered with the government of Delhi for the Summer Guided Learning Program for 5 lakh students who regularly received Khan Academy content on their phone. Similarly, we partnered with the UP for over 1 crore students. Our main advantages were the trust, reliability and positive feedback from teachers and students that helped others (including more State government) to know and use our platform for online learning.

The fact that we had the means to deliver was thus a benefit. One per cent of our learning time in 2017 was spent using vernaculars, but, during the last two years (during the pandemic), we have already surpassed the 20 per cent threshold through the usage of vernaculars. I predict that fifty per cent of our usage time will be spent in (regional) languages in around two or three years. Future predictions indicate that more people will use educational technology content that is published in local languages.

How can education in regional languages help people get jobs, go to college, or do research more effectively?

The first aim for anyone learning in their native regional language should be to lay a strong foundation during their early school years up to middle school. It is important to firmly grasp math, science, and build a solid foundational understanding that prepares students to adopt and be career ready in their later years. If someone has strong educational understanding in their early to mid-school years, it is relatively easier to acquire new skills or learn a new language required for higher studies or career opportunities.

Have you been able to figure out how well learning a local language works?

Khan Academy was exclusively offered in English when we first launched in India but we were sure that learning in regional languages could impact the students of rural India. Hence, we focused on making our learning content available in regional languages such as Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi, Punjabi and Kannada and there are more to come. Our hypothesis was proven true by the surging demand in regional content from our users. In the last few years, the growth of regional users had been consistent. We received almost 20 per cent usage on our platform in India from regional users and it will likely to become 50 per cent or more in the coming years.

We may not have standalone data on the impact of learning in regional languages but more educational institutions and their governing bodies in India are making learning in regional languages more accessible even for higher studies. Along with that, we observe more users prefer to study in their native language and find it more useful than learning in English.

What is the way forward, especially in an evolving education scenario?

The approach is now a hybrid model that combines physical classroom and enhances learning with online education. It will expand as more people see its effectiveness and influence. People and authorities will continue to realise that, while physical education is excellent, digital education improves teacher ability, efficiency, and student outcomes overall. Teachers can be empowered by technology. Therefore, the most efficient approach will be to use technology in a classroom with a teacher who can teach more effectively with the help of technology.