Byju’s vantage point – parents want online learning to continue even after schools reopen

• A survey by ed-tech unicorn Byju’s says that parents who were once apprehensive are now advocating about online learning and want it to continue.
• The startup which had doubled its revenue in FY20 to ₹2800 crore, also made money during lockdown with its April sales clocking ₹340 crore and May sales amounting to ₹370 crore.
• In an interview with Business Insider, Divya Gokulnath, co-founder of Byju’s says that the future of learning is blended.

Schools and colleges in India have been shut for over five months now and online learning has become the new normal. As discussions about the reopening of schools begin, a survey by ed-tech unicorn Byju’s shows that parents who were once apprehensive are now advocating about online learning and want it to continue.

According to the survey, 75% of parents said they now want their children to continue learning through online channels/mediums even after schools reopen.

“There has been a huge mindset change in the way all stakeholders – parents, teachers, and students are perceiving online learning. It has moved from a ‘good to have’ thought to a must-have. Online learning was the only thing they could turn to during the lockdown,” said Divya Gokulnath, co-founder of Byju’s.

And Byju's has been reaping the benefits of this online transition – it now has over 57 million students on its platform. The startup which had doubled its revenue in FY20 to ₹2800 crore, also made money during lockdown with its April sales clocking ₹340 crore and May sales amounting to ₹370 crore.

But even with the rising number of users, Gokulnath still stresses engagement being the more promising number which shows that this is something students like. Students on an average spend about 71 minutes every day on the platform, and during the lockdown the number shot up to 100.

Online learning: The challenges and concerns

When the lockdown began, here’s what parents were worried about during the online learning phase, according to Byju’s survey.



The future of learning is blended – what will children go to school for?

Gokulnath still believes that it won’t be an ‘online only’ future. In fact, the future of learning is blended, she says as students even during lockdown have missed the social interaction. She said there are few skills that students will develop only if they can spend time with people in real-time.

“The core curriculum will stay online as parents too have now realised that in this every student has a front row seat in the class. The aspects which will remain offline are physical education. As a parent myself, I know that non-core subjects like even art, which are very important for the overall development of the child will remain offline,” she said.

With the new education policy and a lot of focus on the increasing screen time of young students, Gokulnath said that there have been several improvements in which students are limiting their time online. “Schools are creating self-study modules, they are making sure that students are coming to class only when it is necessary for a concept to be taught by a teacher,” she said.

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