EdTech in India needs stronger regulation

However, in the last year, some Indian EdTech companies have been in the news for all the wrong reasons. Consumers have raised a barrage of complaints about platforms engaging in numerous unfair trade practices including misleading advertising, mis-selling to parents, persistent sales and marketing, predatory lending, and misuse of automatic debit and transfers.
One does not have to look far to find harrowing anecdotes of parents being hounded by tenacious sales associates exhorting them to sign up for a product, lest their children be left behind. A legislator also brought these issues to the attention of the Parliament, followed by an open letter to the education minister about the unethical practices and false claims made by EdTech players.
These complaints have not gone unnoticed. In December 2021, the government stepped in to issue a public advisory with dos and donu2019ts for consumers when considering EdTech platforms. In the advisory, the government cited the Consumer Protection (e-commerce) Rules, 2020, and stated that EdTech companies may be considered e-commerce entities and, therefore, must ensure compliance with the rules. In January 2022, the Ministry of Education also announced that it would formulate regulations for the industry. This resulted in several EdTech players collectivising to form the Indian EdTech Consortium and developing a self-regulation code. This move has seemingly halted the governmentu2019s regulatory push for the time being.
However, complaints against the industry have continued. The most recent example is a report by the Advertising Standards Council of India in June 2022. The report revealed that the education sector, including EdTech, was the u2018single largest violative sectoru2019, accounting for a third of all complaints from consumers of misleading advertising.The imperative of regulation
Such complaints are problematic in any industry. However, they are of particular concern in this sector, as education is a public good affecting every household, with significant implications for future generations and socio-economic development. Maintaining quality and standards in this sector is of utmost importance. Moreover, education is viewed as an aspirational tool that offers communities a path to social mobility. Therefore, even discerning parents are often under pressure to accept the u2018best solutionsu2019 on offer for their childrenu2019s benefit. This pressure and information asymmetry lends itself to exploitation through unfair practices and marketing.
In this context, the need for regulatory action is becoming increasingly evident. Consumers too are cognisant of this imperative. In a survey by Local Circlesu2014a community social media platform for citizens to discuss governance issues and actively participate in their urban communitiesu201496 percent respondents wanted the EdTech industry regulated, while 66 percent felt a need for mandatory government regulation, as opposed to a voluntary self-regulatory code.
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