Opinion Ed-tech companies are stealing our children’s data — and their joy for learning
Aspects like AI-based gamification and ranking might be helpful in certain cases, but they also carry the risk of killing the inherent beauty of learning and exploring one’s curiosity
Aspects like AI-based gamification and ranking might be helpful in certain cases, but they also carry the risk of killing the inherent joy of learning and exploring one’s curiosity. 
The recent announcement to introduce Artificial Intelligence (AI) into India’s national curriculum from Class III has reignited debates about the direction and priorities of our education system. While this move signals a push toward future-readiness, it also raises important questions about who shapes this vision and how. One of the most influential and least scrutinised actors in this space is the booming ed-tech industry. Many in this industry misread India’s diverse education landscape as a uniform market, deploying one-size-fits-all, tech-driven solutions that lack pedagogical depth and local sensitivity. Additionally, they often prioritise profit and data extraction over learning outcomes and student well-being. As we prepare to integrate AI into early education, we must ask: Are we designing a system that serves children, or one that serves the market?
Understanding the ‘market’
The “market” of Indian education is unique, and it represents a diverse, fragmented, and complicated landscape. This is partly because education is placed in the Concurrent List, resulting in education policy decisions being reflective of regional and national politics. From deciding where to build an institution like the Indian Institute of Management to the implementation of the “language formula”, education and politics often go together. Moreover, increasing privatisation and rising income inequalities have raised tough questions of accessibility. Also, being a product of its society, Indian education reflects social inequalities based on factors like caste, gender, social stigma, and even geographic inequalities.
The non-education ed-tech start-ups
Indian education is gargantuan enough to excite every entrepreneur. With a relatively complex yet relatively permissive regulatory framework, India’s ed-tech sector became highly valued and several start-ups focussed on improving educational outcomes appeared. If one were to plot a matrix of technological innovation against educational effectiveness, few of these start-ups would show a fine understanding of the context. Notably, despite being heavily funded, many would fall in the category of neither technologically innovative nor educationally effective.
In essence, the ed-tech sector is dominated by entities with strong technological competence and poor pedagogical understanding. For instance, recall the rise of platforms that offer a uniform pre-recorded or online tutoring model to teach students from early classes up to bachelor’s. With this one-size-fits-all approach based on a superficial understanding of diverse learner motivations and needs, it would appear unsurprising if such start-ups began offering “IAS foundational courses” for preschool children.
Aspects like AI-based gamification and ranking might be helpful in certain cases, but they also carry the risk of killing the inherent joy of learning and exploring one’s curiosity. This becomes even more important as India attempts to move away from its marks and grades-centric education paradigm under the National Education Policy 2020.
Consequently, it might be useful to contemplate whether such start-ups actually represent regressive notions of education. For instance, often, ed-tech start-ups are founded on the misinterpretation of the education landscape as an undifferentiated market wherein tech-driven solutions can be rapidly scaled. This stems from technocrats’ hasty dismissal of human-centred, non-AI-based learning without fully appreciating the learning process and the conditions required thereof. Without keeping the classroom experience in mind, founders routinely launch ed-tech solutions to optimise processes and systems that appear inefficient to them.
The hidden agenda
Among common people, there is an understanding that the predatory approach often associated with Indian ed-tech start-ups is a result of a single-minded focus on maximising profits. However, the public may not fully grasp that profit maximisation is also achieved through indirect and rather disturbing ways.
Beyond the revenue earned directly from the consumer, ed-tech start-ups pride themselves on being the custodian of sensitive data of learners and channelling them to other platforms. Further, such data collection is often recurring and non-consensual, which escapes legal scrutiny due to the underdeveloped privacy laws in India.
To clarify, the engagement of start-ups that wish to contribute to a stronger Indian education system is encouraging. However, such start-ups should possess sound contextual understanding, domain expertise, and robust data protection measures. Moreover, companies entering this space should prioritise pedagogical expertise over mere technological capabilities. The focus should not only be on what to teach, how to teach it, and what is age-appropriate.
Our children must not be treated as guinea pigs for these companies. As the future of the nation, they deserve to be engaged with sensitivity and care. They should not be left at the mercy of ed-tech companies.
The writer is director of Centre of Policy Research and Governance.
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