COVID-19: POTENTIAL IMPACT ON INDIAN EDUCATION & SKILLING SECTOR - KPMG FINDINGS
The COVID-19 outbreak has caused a painful disruption in our lives in India and across the world. As of today, 7 April 2020, the total number of coronavirus cases recorded in India is 4789, and the news suggests that President Trump has called on India to release a potential COVID-19 drug to treat their patients. When the whole world is still overwhelmed and getting accustomed to the uncertainty caused by this outbreak, the harsh economic impact of COVID-19 on the Indian education and skilling sector is inevitable.
According to a recent KPMG report, India’s real GDP decelerated to its lowest in over six years in 3Q 2019-20, and the pandemic has posed fresh challenges for the Indian economy. Schools in the entire nation face closure for several weeks, and that too during the crucial period of the beginning of the new academic year. Educational institutions in India may face the following challenges as a result.
- Public Schools: Public and low-key private schools will face a larger impact on their teaching and learning, owing to heavy reliance on the traditional brick-and-mortar delivery style.
- Private Schools: Private schools with access to resources could try to minimise the impact on their teaching and learning; however, they could face cash flow issues if fee payments are delayed.
As a direct consequence of COVID-19, Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in India will be forced to face different kinds of challenges, including an impact on student admissions, decrease in student mobility and difficulty in recruiting faculty, said the report.
The findings highlight that HEIs in India are not yet fully equipped to implement online learning and suggest ramping up digital resources. KPMG thought leadership also recommends to design, develop and deliver courses, training and assessments online for students, teachers and faculty.
It is important to introduce and promote basic healthcare e-learning courses for training healthcare professionals and support staff, in order to meet the shortfall of healthcare professionals, said the report.
To ensure continuity in operations, CBSE and other boards may consider alternate ways of assessment instead of indefinitely postponing the examinations, said the report. It also recommends considering staggered admission cycles instead of the regular cycle, as well as creating a contingency plan and robust operating procedures and policies to ensure continuity of operations in the wake of such emergencies in the future.
Commenting on the skilling sector, the report said that the lockdown would decrease the available skilled manpower in India by ~ 10 to 15% (from a pool of 10 million trainees) and is likely to increase the unemployment rate. It indicated a large number of lay-offs owing to issues with the sustainability of MSMEs, with chances that companies would delay the onboarding of students.
The report recommends developing a framework for effective collaboration with Industry associations, Skill Councils, National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) and Edtech companies to devise effective ways of online skills training across sectors — as well as developing and delivering online training modules for apprenticeship training.
Providing tax relief for the MSME sector, subsidies for edtech companies and loans to low-fee private schools are recommended by KPMG for the short-term revival of the sector.
For further insights by KPMG on the impact of COVID-19 on Indian Education & Skilling sector, please check pages 29 to 31 of the report here: https://bit.ly/2x2aVUC
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Nithya Prabu is an education strategist, author and founder of Lurnable, a Bristol-based strategy consultancy that helps educational institutions maximise their potential in the international markets.
We advise nurseries, K-12 schools, colleges, universities, summer schools, language schools, skill development academies, government entities, foundations and education investors on how to establish their international presence and achieve global success through the design and delivery of various educational solutions.
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