India's online education industry will be worth $1.6 billion by 2021, according to a new report from Google and KPMG.
The report said online searches on education from mobile devices grew by three times. Also, 44 per cent of education-related searches now come from beyond the top six metros and there has been four times growth in education content consumption on YouTube in the last one year.
Reskilling and online certification are the largest categories in the digital education space valued at $93 million. Primary and secondary supplementary education is the second largest with an addressable student base of 260 million.The test preparation, a small segment as of today, is likely to grow at an impressive CAGR of 64 per cent to become a $515 million category in 2021.
"The online education segment is set to become a multi-billion dollar opportunity in India. There are many factors driving this growth, including the perceived convenience, increased reach and personalisation offered by online channels. It is also interesting to note, that high growth in education search queries is now coming in from tier 2 and 3 cities such as Patna, Guwahati, Aligarh and Kota—which points to the opportunities that growing penetration of smartphones and improving quality of internet have opened up," says Nitin Bawankule, Industry Director, Google India.
The various factors contributing to stellar growth in the online education space include emergence of hybrid learning channels, continuous need for working professionals to learn new skills as well as emergence of technologies such as big data and artificial intelligence that is enabling online education vendors to design customised content.
