India\'s Gross Enrolment Ratio rises from 12 % to 21% during 2008-2014, says report

The “Make in India” mantra of Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, has added thrust to the startup market in India. Already home to the third largest number of startups in the world, India is creating new investment avenues for these entrepreneurs and investors through its concerted efforts to enhance the quality of education.

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, investment opportunities in the Indian education market, reveals that the rise in India’s Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) from 12 percent to 21 percent during 2008-2014, although an improvement, is significantly lower than global average. This signifies immense scope for enhancing educational reach and standards.

“Startups present a great opportunity for the creative expression of business enterprise, and next-generation entrepreneurs are keen to cash in on the opportunities in the education sector,” said Frost & Sullivan Senior Financial Consultant K Vinod Cartic. “They are feeling especially optimistic as the Government of India has been placing considerable emphasis on education. A case in point is the INR 3 lakh crore ($60 Billion) outlay for education in the 11th Five Year Plan (2009 to 2013) – a massive 6.2 times increase over the allocation in the previous budget.”

These large infusions of funds notwithstanding, the number of people taking to teaching as a profession is not rising proportionately year on year. At K-12 levels of schooling, the pupil-teacher ratio still lags way behind the average in developed countries (15-19).

This inadequacy of school teachers, disconnect between the syllabi of common entrance examinations with K-12 syllabi, and intense competition have resulted in the proliferation of coaching classes. So much so, coaching classes have become an integral part of the non-formal sector of education in India.

Apart from coaching classes, the use of multimedia in schools has rapidly caught the fancy of educators, students and parents. Its popularity has stoked substantial business opportunities for ICT companies that provide multimedia in classrooms on a contractual basis.

While digital education is expected to play a pivotal role in future, it does not imply that the human teacher will be replaced completely. In fact, the new-age classroom will create more challenging roles such as mentoring and coaching for teachers and this, in turn, will generate demand for orientation and training. These new roles and openings will invite sizeable investor participation.

“Overall, higher disposable incomes, favourable demographics, and online revolution are favouring the growth of education,” noted Cartic. “Investors can secure higher return on investment by focusing on different investment themes in the education sector.”