When you think about online education, you probably think of government schemes to bring education to people in remote villages, or you think of international sites like Khan Academy and Coursera, which are used for continuing or supplementing education. However, these international sites aren’t very relevant when you’re looking for tools that will help your kids with her school exams. There are however, several Indian sites which cater specifically to this need, with coursework and questions tailored around the Indian curriculum.
These sites – designed to be used by schoolchildren, their parents and teachers – offer everything from coursework to testing and virtual classrooms. Perhaps the most visible name in the category is Meritnation, thanks to its television ad campaign. Formed in 2009, the company now advertises a total of 6.7 million and growing list of registered students on its website and reported an operating revenue of Rs. 20.28 crores in 2013-2014. Having raised Rs. 71.5 crores from Info Edge (which owns 55.81 percent of the stake in the company) in multiple rounds, it now plans to expand even more into the smaller cities in India.
Pavan Chauhan, MD and co-founder of Meritnation says that over the last few years, there has been a rise in the student populace flocking to them. And why wouldn’t they? A wide variety of choices, better connect with teachers and other students, and even getting tailor-made coaching all for a low price – or at times even free – have started to draw audiences towards them. This, combined with the ease of accessibility via mobile devices helps sweeten the deal further for students.
