Indian education has always been set on the stereotypical background where a student is pressured to have a record of As’ in every discipline he studies. With the arrival of edtech companies in the market, this stereotyped mindset has just got a boost.
The advertisements rolled out by these edtechs showcased the toppers and best results of the students who had enrolled in the firm. This builds pressure in the minds of other students to perform well. Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) analyzed 100 edtech ads for their new ‘EdNext’ report and it was found that half of the edtech firms are putting out a stereotypical advertisements to pressurize students to give better results or get high scores.
They demonstrated the results of toppers who had enrolled themselves with the firm and scored high marks and build pressure among the students to deliver similar results. ASCI said it focused on the edtech sector’s advertising and the impact it has on students and parents. It picked 100 edtech ads across TV, print, digital video, and static ads and showed them to children and parents.
The report pointed out several constraints and challenges in the education ecosystem like hyper-competition, unfulfilled aspirations, and a limited pool of good teachers, thereby turning the years of learning and development into the proverbial “pressure cooker” situations. These challenges will continue to persist unless edtech firms change the way they advertise.
ASCI in its report showed that one-third of the edtech firms claimed themselves as being the ‘best’ or the ‘largest’ or the ‘top’ edtech firms in some parameter while only a quarter guarantee in terms of success or helping students become toppers.
Certain edtech firms in their ads depict exams as a battle with students as warriors fighting to score well. It delivers a clear message that the entire future of children rests on scoring well in exams and that failure is entirely out of question.
Another point of attention is the role models in these advertisements are actors rather than those who have excelled in academic fields. Although edtech constitutes just 6-8% of the entire education sector, it significantly impacts the exam and marks narrative due to the amount of money spent on advertising and the use of popular celebrities.
Manisha Kapoor, the CEO of the council said that the edtech sector has a huge opportunity if it sets aside its whole exam and marks narrative and focuses on making education and learning more inclusive and wholesome.
The report added that the hard selling of education has created an uncomfortable perception, where parents are treated as customers and education as a commodity. Aggrieved parents have spoken out in large numbers on social media, trying to bring attention to their issues around infrastructure, quality of teachers, and refund of fees, among many others.
