upGrad’s Mayank Kumar Quits As IEC Co-Chair, PW’s Prateek Maheshwari To Take Over

Mayank Kumar, cofounder and MD of edtech unicorn upGrad, is stepping down as the chairperson of the India Edtech Consortium (IEC), a self-regulatory body set up under the aegis of the Internet & Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) for edtech entities.

Kumar, who led the IEC since 2022 along with BYJU’S cofounder Divya Gokulnath, informed the members of the consortium in an email. PhysicsWallah cofounder Prateek Maheshwari will replace Kumar as the chairperson of the IEC.

The IEC was formed last year to look after the code of conduct for its member edtech companies. BYJU’s, WhiteHat Jr, Great Learning, Careers 360, Harappa, Vedantu, Times Edutech and Events Ltd, Simplilearn, Toppr, Scalar, Unacademy, and upGrad are among its members. 

The body ensures that three principles are in place for edtech entities – no misselling of the products, right marketing and communication, and right financing policies.

Edtech has emerged as one of the leading industries in India since the Covid-19 pandemic. But along with growth have come controversies. Several issues have caught attention over the last few years, from misleading advertisements to aggressive selling of loans to candidates. The IEC was established to address these problems.

Last year, the IAMAI had appointed retired Supreme Court Judge BS Chauhan as the chairperson of the Independent Grievance Redressal Board (IGRB), which was formed as part of the IEC, to address a few grievances pertaining to its members.

One of these grievances included a case filed by the learners of BYJU’S subsidiary, Great Learning.

Meanwhile, controversies continue in the edtech sector. Earlier this year, Member of Parliament Karti P Chidambaram wrote to India’s education minister Dharmendra Pradhan saying “profit-mongering giants” in the edtech sector were openly violating the Centre’s guidelines at the expense of children and their future.

In January this year, a report by the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) said that many advertisements by Indian edtech companies made misleading claims and reinforced a narrow view of education.