Good morning [%first_name |Dear Reader%],

Today’s edition is a little different. As old hands would know by now, we usually have one big piece of news commentary and a few snippets of other happenings from the world of edtech. 

But sometimes, variety is the order of the day and you’ve got to switch things up. So, this week, instead of a main dish and some sides, what I have for you is a snack plate of easily digestible tidbits. 

Let’s dig in!

India’s National Education Policy is turning 2! The pandemic zero-year was an interesting time for such a momentous policy to launch. Nothing had stirred in the world of education policy for decades, but the NEP has brought a windfall of changes in terms of school work, how degrees should function, how teachers should be recruited. It’s even aiming to change the contours of the Indian knowledge system, to “decolonise” it. 

One clear aim of the NEP is to take Indian education global. That’s why, since the latest budget announcement in early 2022, foreign campuses have been eyeing Indian shores to set up shop. Indian campuses are also being egged on by the government to open more doors for foreign candidates. That’s why you may soon see an IIT in Dubai.

These plans might be in motion, but they ignore a really key part of the Indian education ecosystem that’s already gone international—edtech.

Indian edtech companies have already scoped out international markets that they want to expand to. Online, geographical boundaries blur faster, and the idea of an “international” education isn’t so prohibitively expensive. You could potentially do a degree in nursing from a college based in the UK, learn from an international faculty, but still be situated in your Indian hometown. In that sense, edtech has always had the potential to go international.

Indian education companies have always catered to a slim international audience, but the real push into western markets, in recent years, has been Byju’s doing. The K-12-to-higher ed company bought OSMO in 2019 for US$120 million, and followed that up by acquiring EPIC and Tynker. Byju’s’ international expansion model has made acquisitions but also pushed out its coding/math service through WhiteHat Jr:

UpGrad, on the other hand, has pushed out its efforts to partner with international universities. It’s made one foreign acquisition:

Even a relatively smaller player like BrightChamps, which teaches coding and 21st century skills to K-12 students, has directly marketed to students abroad:

The UK and India have signed a pact to mutually recognise bachelors, masters, and doctoral degrees.