Govt To Back Edtech Consortium’s Bid To Develop Advertising Codes

In a closed-door meeting held with members of the India Edtech Consortium (IEC), consumer affairs secretary Rohit Kumar Singh reportedly directed the edtech players to curb unfair trade practices. 

During the meeting which was held on November 17, Singh extended support to the body in formalising guidelines to curb misleading advertisements in the edtech space. He also reviewed the status of the resolution of consumer complaints lodged with the self-regulatory body. 

“…the Consumer Affairs Secretary agreed to support IEC to constitute a joint working group for laying down advertising guidelines for further sanitising the Edtech ecosystem,” a statement from the Internet and Mobile Association of India and accessed by the Economic Times said.

The report further quoted Singh as saying that the ministry was looking at closely working with the IEC in ‘formalising set templates and operating guidelines’ for edtech players to address complaints related to unethical advertising practices. 

Quoting a source, a separate Moneycontrol report stated, “The DoCA (consumer affairs department) wants the IEC to come up with standard operating procedures for all IEC members and other things, so that got done. The IEC also shares their complaints, status of the complaints, updates from the IGRB (internal grievance redressal board) etc with the DoCA.”

The meeting was attended by IEC members including two co-chairpersons namely BYJU’S cofounder Divya Gokulnath and upGrad cofounder and managing director Mayank Kumar. Representatives from edtech platforms such as Unacademy, Times Professional Learning and Great Learning were also in attendance. 

The Edtech Nuisance

This comes at a time when the edtech space continues to be plagued by rising complaints over misleading advertisements. 

A recent ASCI report found the overarching education sector accounted for the biggest chunk, nearly 27%, of total complaints against advertisers between April and September,  2022. However, of the total 3,340 complaints, 5% came from the edtech space. 

On similar lines, the education sector had also emerged as the biggest violator of the advertising code between April 2021 and March 2022, as per ASCI. 

Such was the incessant number of complaints regarding unfair trade practices that it even forced the government to issue warning shots against edtech players. Singh, on a previous occasion, had warned edtech companies that stringent norms would be formulated, if self-regulation by edtech startups failed to yield any results.

This is not the first time that the space has landed itself in hot waters. Previously, the central government had formed a panel to investigate exorbitant claims made by edtech platforms. 

Last month, the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the All India Council For Technical Education (AICTE) publicly stated that online Ph.D programmes offered by edtech players in collaboration with foreign institutes were not recognised. 

The government has also issued multiple advisories urging the general public to cross-verify claims made by edtech platforms. 

The latest crackdown comes as the Indian edtech space continues to be bogged down by raging funding winter and a dwindling number of users. Many players have shut shop while others, including giants such as BYJU’S and Unacademy, have gone overboard on cost-cutting measures. 

The ensuing mayhem has seen these edtech players fire more than 7,500 people in mass layoffs so far.  These startups have also shelved expansion plans and have dialled down operations in many cities across the country. 

However, the space continues to be a lucrative one. According to Inc42, the Indian edtech sector is anticipated to reach a market size of $10.4 Bn by 2025.