Market-led technological advocacy has been central in education in India and worldwide in the past decade. As a result, education is reconfiguring around several firms' operations with soaring market capitalisation and opaque corporate strategies. In India, with a multiplicity of educational processes and diverse education needs, the issue at hand is complicated and has been compounded manifold by the emergence and growth of EdTech. EdTech is not independent; it co-exists with economic systems, class relations, political institutions, and everything in between. The uncertainties and risks in modern times show the profound impact of these changing processes and practices in contemporary times.
The knowledge economy, global competition, market compatibility, privatisation, performativity, and entrepreneurship dominate contemporary discourses in education and development. These dominant discourses impact how we think about education and how thoughts get materialised in our everyday actions. The focus of the study would be to understand Edtech-induced changes in terms of their accessibility and reach and their understanding in lower and working classes.
This paper aims to answer some specific questions:
- Are there any contributing political, economic, and social contexts that have facilitated the emergence and growth of EdTech in India?
- To give an account of parents, teachers and children's interaction with the technology?
- EdTech's impact on social inequalities and highlight the intersectionality of caste, class and gender?
The paper will look at the education market under Neoliberalism, where every crisis seems to suggest epochal change, but in some way, the same market logic survives with some modifications. This paper may help understand if the shift by EdTech is about overcoming an old system or advocacy groups creating spaces for their own business rather than bringing any significant changes in education. The paper will reflect upon the experience of children, teachers and parents and their understanding of EdTech education.
