How College Vidya Is Cracking The Chaos In India’s Digital Higher Education Space

On the surface, a college education is a nice concept. Students pick the subjects they love, learn from the experts and emerge job-ready and future-perfect, armed with relevant degrees. This academic culture also gels well with the higher education landscape in India. The country’s higher education system ranks among the largest globally, and its gross enrolment ratio (GER) for the 18-23 age group stood at 28.4%. 

According to the Economic Survey 2024-25, India serves 24.8 Cr school students, a near-universal GER at the primary level (around 93%). But the number significantly drops when one goes up the academic ladder (77.4% and 56.2% at the secondary and the higher secondary levels, respectively). While the government plans to bridge these gaps, a nation must grow and upgrade its higher education system to drive inclusive and equitable growth. 

The national target to increase the GER in higher education is 50% by 2035, which requires doubling the educational network and infrastructure. But in a rapidly evolving educational landscape, where digital learning has become the new normal, students increasingly go online to find the right courses and institutions for specialised knowledge, job-related skills and personalised guidance. Understanding the complexity of navigating a vast online higher education market and diverse opportunities, a team of three launched the edtech platform startup College Vidya to redefine how learners make crucial academic decisions in a digital-first world. On this edtech platform, students based in any city of India can learn from top notch universities and colleges.

Although students from large public high schools require hand-holding by career counsellors and guidance providers, these services are often considered an extra layer, a luxury premium institutions provide. “In fact, College Vidya stems from my struggles and what I experienced. I always wanted to pursue engineering but never had the ‘shepherding’ I needed,” said Rohit Gupta, the cofounder and COO, who holds a commerce degree from Delhi University and later completed an executive management development programme from IIM-Lucknow.   

Rohit and his brother Mayank earlier ran a computer training chain with 40+ centres, helping fresh graduates acquire industry-ready tech skills. But they had to wind up their first venture, and Rohit started working as a student counsellor at a university. His job took him to different parts of the country, even in remote areas, where he experienced firsthand how a staggering number of students needed guidance to select the best possible programmes. The brothers eventually took the plunge and started their second venture, a 100% digital initiative. As their mission gained momentum, they were joined by Sarthak Garg, who strengthened the team’s product capabilities and reach.                

College Vidya is a one-stop consulting platform for online courses, providing comprehensive and unbiased information to democratise learning. Based on 30+ key criteria, it has selected a wide array of programmes from more than 100 accredited online universities and runs an AI-powered recommendation engine based on a brief questionnaire. 

The platform features undergraduate and postgraduate courses, doctorate and PhD programmes, executive education for the C-suite and other working professionals, law courses, advanced diplomas, upskilling provisions and guidance for studying abroad. It also offers course comparison and university verification tools, one-to-one audio/video counselling by 500+ mentors and adequate networking opportunities. Additionally, it provides educational loans in collaboration with financial partners and runs a career portal and an internship platform for 360-degree support.

Revenue is generated through nominal onboarding fees paid by online universities and edtech partners, recruitment services connecting students with potential employers. The bootstrapped venture earned INR 43 Cr in FY24 and is projected to close the current fiscal year with INR 60 Cr, a 40% jump. It aims to reach INR 200 Cr in revenue within the next five years and actively explores funding opportunities for expansion and innovation.  

The 4C’s Of Counselling Designed For Digital-First Higher Education 

In spite of their previous experience in edtech, College Vidya was not a cakewalk. Quite the contrary, as convincing students and parents about the legitimacy and value of online degrees was one of the toughest challenges. The initial days were spent working with a small but dedicated team of 15-20 and counselling students face-to-face. 

The widespread adoption of digital learning during the pandemic fixed the trust issue, but the landscape soon became overcrowded and chaotic. “With every institution claiming it is the best, it became increasingly difficult for students to identify an ideal option that would match their goals and potential,” added Rohit. 

Another critical issue is ‘undermatching’. Many students only apply to institutions they have heard of instead of searching for the best ones they qualify for. Others skip high-cost schools without delving into the financial assistance and scholarship schemes. Worse still, some students do not apply despite being fully qualified, limiting their learning opportunities and career prospects. It means students without counselling easily stumble and make poor decisions. 

“It’s a huge problem – massive, we would say. Plus, we wanted to make a robust system that would continue to deliver value in post-Covid times. Hence, the introduction of so many parameters and an AI recommendation to ensure a good match in the first place,” the founders said. 

“We aim to simplify decision-making and offer expert guidance to students exploring higher education online. They should be able to choose without being swayed by marketing gimmicks or misinformation.”

The platform’s unique approach is rooted in four fundamental principles or 4C’s: Comparison, counselling, career support and community. Here is a quick look at each. 

Compare: This feature allows users to compare universities and courses based on 30+ factors such as accreditation, course structure, fees, faculty and reviews. Unlike traditional university-affiliated counsellors, College Vidya provides unbiased, expert guidance to meet each student’s specific requirements and enable informed decision-making. 

Counselling: Trained counsellors/mentors (every mentor has done PG Diploma in career counseling)  guide students through their academic journey, advising on course selection, career paths and university options. This helps students receive appropriate guidance aligned with their long-term goals.

Career: College Vidya extends its services beyond enrolment and offers job and internship opportunities through its partnerships with various organisations. This is a vital initiative, bridging education and skills with professional growth. 

Community: Finally, it fosters a collaborative community where students, alums and industry experts share knowledge, experiences and insights. It builds camaraderie and helps expand professional networks at a time when campus recruitment is falling.

How College Vidya Overcame Hurdles To Reach Its Target Audience  

The edtech player had to overcome technological and logistical hurdles to ensure accessibility across Tier II and III cities. As a bootstrapped startup, the founders faced the daunting task of building a sophisticated platform that could meet the high expectations of students accustomed to seamless experiences provided by Amazon and Zomato. 

“So, we have written more than 10 Lakh lines of code to ensure smooth navigation across features and an intuitive interface. Everything has been developed to streamline and manage the intersection of multiple priorities – academic performances, plans for the future and the means to afford those goals. It is a complex and chaotic process, at best. But we have gained traction through a balanced integration of tech, information and hand-holding by trained professionals with unique perspectives on what students need to succeed,” said Rohit.

Interestingly, the startup’s Big-Billion-Day campaigns resonated well with Indian students. These mid-year admission schemes supported students who faced academic setbacks and offered up to 50% cash subsidy on selected programmes. In essence, it has broken free from the sales-driven model prevalent in the edtech space, reinforcing the platform’s commitment to students’ education and career development.           

It is not surprising, therefore, that College Vidya has a strong presence in Tier I-III cities. Delhi leads with 13.5% of its student base, followed closely by Uttar Pradesh at 13.1% and Maharashtra at 10.06%. Other key markets include Bihar (5.9%), West Bengal (5.5%) and Haryana (4.9%), each contributing a growing share of the user base. Although Karnataka, Rajasthan and Gujarat each account for 3-4% of its student base, the startup gets significant traffic from the Middle East.

The Road Ahead For College Vidya In The Online Learning Space

In an era when students are bombarded with product promotions and marketing claims, College Vidya wants to create an unparalleled college guidance system based on unbiased information and transparency, tech advantages and the excellence of its guidance counsellors.

The edtech startup is pursuing an ambitious growth plan, combining domestic expansion and international reach. At home, it will expand its footprint across regional markets, and beyond India, it has set its sights on the UAE, Bangladesh and Nepal.

In the short term, College Vidya will focus on enhancing its AI-driven features, strengthening its content and community ecosystems and scaling its video-counselling services to address diverse student challenges. The aim is to reach every Indian pin code and drive a 10 Lakh-strong monthly traffic, up from the current average of 6 Lakh.

“In the long term, we want to partner with leading global universities, offer more programmes, and develop a comprehensive job and internship marketplace. This strategic approach will enhance value for students and education providers while positioning College Vidya as a leading edtech platform,” said Rohit.

If that sounds like an overload of plans in too many directions, at least the core business of College Vidya will continue to grow. Globally, the career and education counselling market is estimated to reach $4.9 Bn by 2031, growing at a CAGR of nearly 8% from $2.8 Bn in 2024. And India is unlikely to lag in this space, as it is working dedicatedly to implement NEP 2020 (National Education Policy) to enter a new era of economic prosperity.

Given that the NEP promotes five fundamental pillars – Access, equity, quality, affordability, and accountability – the country is all set to disrupt the classic, campus-based higher education model. Edtech ventures like College Vidya and its peers can play a pivotal role here by opening up new learning opportunities and preparing students for the real world.