Education sector in India is developing at a great pace. With every budget announced, the government is also passing new commitments in making education an essential element of country’s success. With the digital move of the government, there are many new opportunities that have been opened for the students across the country. Not only they can explore career opportunities in this field, but they can also avail several facilities that are provided by education based startups which have been benefited by Digital India move. The government is leaving no stone unturned in creating an access of these facilities for the students even in the remotest region of the country. Also, with the help of big corporate giants, government is slowly increasing the internet access even in tier-2 and tier-3 cities which further makes it easier for students to avail facilities which can help them grow and learn without any physical constraints.
Is current generation different from the earlier ones?
Apart from supporting startups with their taxation structure, setting-up process and development phase, the government need to identify the areas which are of much need in today’s generation. Current generation has ample opportunities to take education if they are interested in that. They can learn free of cost up to an age of 14 and can avail several more facilities provided by the government but it is to be understood what are the actual needs of current generation students. The current generation students are much different than the previous generation and they are needed to be understood by the government. A lot has been understood by the start-ups of the country and they have been successful in providing the services that are actually needed by the students for their better prospects in education.
How is academic stress affecting our students?
The most concerning thing for the parents of current students is that current generation is highly ambitious and with ambitions comes sensitivity. Students are often not prepared at home to face difficult situations and when they face failures, many of them take extreme steps. Last year was full of suicide news that were attempted by students out of the frustration of their academic performance. Kota, which is an education hub of North India was much popular last year with several incidents of suicide attempts by its students. One of the news website claimed that more than 50 students committed suicide in the last 5 years in Kota only. Another story stated that in Madhya Pradesh, there was a rise in student suicide by 240% in 2016. The situation is getting worse day by day and needs steps to be taken quite seriously.
Have startups understood the situation correctly?
Firstly, it is to be analysed what causes such incidents among the students and what is the major cause of dissatisfaction among students. On reading interviews of several students, it has been observed that students are mostly pushed to take up a course by their parents. Parents try to fulfill their own ambitions through their children instead of thinking whether their child has an aptitude for that course or not.
Many startups have realised this situation and are working diligently to help the students to come out of this situation. Government can easily provide education to the students through school infrastructure but is still unable to guide the students and their parents in the right direction. Education based startups in India have started taking up the matter of career counselling quite seriously. Having talked to many such startup founders, it was obvious that they also faced the same situation in their academic career and wanted to help the current generation to come out of it.
Career counselling – For directing students to the right career path
One of the first step towards improving the foundation of education has been taken by the startups that have ventured into career counselling. The startups use their own psychometric tests and based on scientific and technology driven solutions are helping students to understand their strengths and weaknesses.
Although 3 years back, this service was quite new, now with the support from the government and skill development ministries, the startups in this field have taken a great step forward and have impacted thousands of students in the country. These startups have also made it clear that profit is not always a driving force. Currently, less than 10% education based startups are providing career counselling, however, it is expected that these startups will be of great support to the future generation in helping them realising their dreams.
Emotional Counselling- For strengthening students’ emotional quotient
Apart from career counselling, there are startups which are providing emotional counselling to the students since the cases of depression and anxiety are also growing among students. With the increased competition, students often get anxious about their results and involve too much in showing their calibre in front of others.
Some of the startups have realised this situation and are offering emotional counselling to the students who are going through difficult phases of life. It has been observed by one of the startup that currently, 36% of the youth is diagnosed with depression and anxiety and if the situation remains the same, it would be difficult to hand over the responsibilities of the country on to their shoulders.
Support in Jobs – Assess talents and provide jobs
One of the most challenging time for a student is when he has to jump into the pool of highly qualified candidates for handful of jobs. Now, with the help of current age startups, students can assess themselves online and can apply to the jobs that are suitable to them and their skills. Earlier, students used to waste a lot of their time in applying for the posts that were not suitable to them and many a times they had to change their jobs due to misfit that is revealed to them only later after joining. However, with startups entering into this field, technology has been used which can connect students to the right recruiters for the right job posts.
Need not to mention that the current age of startups are well ahead of time and they are solving the ground problems for the students and working towards providing the students an environment where they can gain empowerment for their own education. Students are needed to be supported unconditionally and be given the right path so as to tackle the issues that they are experiencing. Startups have come forward with a total understanding of the actual problem since they have also emerged from those who have experienced all these issues with them or to the ones near to them.
Aakanksha Aggarwal
Latest posts by Aakanksha Aggarwal (see all)
- How startups in India are coping with academic stress of students? - February 16, 2017
- These women entrepreneurs are all set to hit the core problems of Indian EdTech - December 11, 2016
- Funding galore in the segment of Edu-Tech startups - July 20, 2016
