The ‘Trends and opportunities in the online learning market’ report is the first in a series of knowledge leadership initiatives from Schoolguru Eduserve to curate an ongoing discourse on the state of Open and Distance Learning in India.

According to the report, the enrollment to Online Degree/ Diploma Program will witness a 14.5% CAGR growth and will reach 63.63 lacs by 2022. As per the study, the positivity is not limited to formal higher education alone; in fact, the entire gamut of online education eco-system which consists of degree/diploma programs and re-skilling programs will see an exponential growth. The total enrollment in online education is estimated to grow at 33.6% CAGR and cross 2.12 crore by 2022. The online re-skilling and certification market (for the repair and upgrade) is expected to touch INR 3,333 crore by 2022.

Key Findings of the Report

• The Indian Higher Education market is set to grow at 6.09% CAGR (2018 – 2022).
• Total enrollments [Degree/Diploma] shall grow at 8.2% CAGR from 3.66 crore in 2018 to 4.63
• Total enrollments [Degree/Diploma] shall grow at 8.2% CAGR from 3.66 crore in 2018 to 4.63 Crore in 2022.
• Online degree programs were not legal in India all this while and Universities will start offering these courses from AY 2019. Online Program enrollments [Degree/Diploma] shall see a 14.5% CAGR growth from Nil (2018) to 63.63 lacs (2022).
• The “Reskilling” component of Online Education is estimated to grow at 22.23% CAGR from an estimated 66.47 lacs (2018) to 1.48 crore (2022).
• Indian higher education market has a significant tilt towards the under-graduate programs that comprise of about 63% of the total student base. However, with the expansion of the re-skilling market this percentage is set to change.
• The online re-skilling and certification market (for the repair and upgrade segment) is expected to touch INR 3,333 crore, growing at 38% CAGR between 2018 and 2022 and shall definitely be larger than the traditional degree programs.
• Enrollments for Online Degree/Diploma education in India are expected to grow at a rate (14.5% CAGR) that is comparable to enrollment growth in the US and Europe markets (16.8% and 12.1% respectively, over 2015 – 2017).
• 66% of the students in US universities pursue associate and bachelor degree and 56% of the students in European universities pursue higher education.
• Online education has rapidly evolved over the past 5 years and is set to enter the era of Virtual and Augmented Reality at the learner-end and AI and machine learning at the back-end.
• Bachelor of Arts is the most popular under-graduation program, followed by Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Commerce. However, for the Post graduation courses, students prefer Social Sciences, Management and pure Sciences as their stream of choice.
• About 42% of the students undergoing a graduation program want to be employed at the end of their courses.
• The Indian secondary education has 94% students being taught in the vernacular medium, the largest amongst them being in Hindi. Hence it becomes important for Universities to ensure that the online programs that they offer are available in vernacular medium also.
• Indian learners prefer to use their mobile phones (80% learners) to access their online courses due to increased mobility and convenience; albeit they shift to using desktops for heavy course material that need the student to carry out practice driven tasks.