We have been using technology so much these days, in each and every domain of our lives, be it be shopping, socializing, connecting, playing etc that it has become an indispensable part of our lives. But, the most important role that technology plays is in the field of education and learning.
Technology and education are a great combination if used together with a right reason and vision. Technology improves education to a great extent and it has now become a need for revolutionizing education for the better.
But, is technology touching only the urban lives? Is it only improving the education of urban kids? It is true that even in today’s time illiteracy is one of the biggest problems in India. Lack of easy access, lack of teachers, lack of interest, poverty, gender differentiation, lack of infrastructure and old methodologies of teaching are few of the reasons which are holding back the progress in rural education.
But with the use of technology mass education can be given and situation can be changed. The children of today do not just need grades and high scores, what they require is applicable and feasible education and Learning Delight strives to fulfill this gap.
Learning Delight is a project with the aim to revolutionize the education quality by digitizing the schools in rural and semi-urban area. It builds on the government’s efforts of supporting and promoting the use of technology in Indian schools. The most unique feature of this project is that it starts at the bottom of the social pyramid, targeting the rural and semi-urban areas.
Learning Delight wants to make learning a delightful experience by incorporating animation, riddle & puzzles. Learning Delight was started 4 years ago by Parinita Gohil, Harshal Gohil and Vandan Kamdar with a focus to reduce the education gap between the urban and rural schools of Gujarat with use of technology.
Stories are aligned to support teacher and class interaction – based on state board curriculum making prescribed textbooks fun and easy. By threading the interest and keen presence of curious minds of children with innovative mentoring Learning Delight creates a wholesome experience of true learning.
Tailored to support needs of students and teachers in the rural areas, Learning Delight maintains the project by offering long-term support for every installation also bringing accountability for the money spent. Learning Delight was started with 5 schools and is currently functional in 6,100 rural government schools spread over 8 districts of Gujarat. Hence, it aims to contribute in the vision of our Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Better India’.
Having grown up in the small city of Bhuj in the Kutch district, during the early years of his life, Harshal has always had a deep connect with the rural life in India. While he later moved to Mumbai for higher studies, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Biotechnology from Pune and pursuing a business degree at Nirma University in Ahmedabad, his early education years stuck with him.
And what struck him most was the marked disparity in the quality of education between rural and urban areas. This observation is what eventually prompted him on his entrepreneurial journey. He met his friend and partner Vandan during his MBA days, and together they established Learning Delight, with a grand vision of bringing a sense of equivalence in how students experience education, irrespective of the school they go to, in any part of the country.
Today, the duo, joined by Harshal’s wife Parinita, have successfully implemented the Learning Delight solutions across 3800 rural schools in India, but as Harshal often says, their journey in transforming rural education in India, has only just begun!
Hailing from a business family, Vandan always had a keen business sense, and he further refined this acumen, while pursuing his business degree at Nirma University, after completing his bachelors in Electronics and Communications.
It was also the time that he met his now business partner and co-founder Harshal. They spent many evenings talking about wanting to set up an independent business, and one that served a larger purpose, besides profitability. With a keen interest in wanting to gain experience independent of his family business, Vandan saw Learning Delight as the right opportunity to not only fulfill his dream of building a business from scratch with Harshal, but also one that had a vision for the greater good of the society.
With a strong education in Biotechnology and a Masters in Business Laws, Parinita, saw Learning Delight as a natural next step for her career. Joining forces with Harshal and Vandan as the marketing force for the team, Parinita was able to quickly help bring life to the vision for the company, the small team of three started not only implanting solutions across rural schools in Gujarat but also managing services for them.
Coming from a tier 3 city herself, Parinita felt a strong connect with some of the challenges many schools from the rural areas face, and was able to tackle them not only from an operational perspective but also build strong relationships with most of the schools that Learning Delight worked with in a short span of time.
According to research too, the education sector in India is poised to witness major growth in the years to come as India will have world’s largest tertiary-age population and second largest graduate talent pipeline globally by the end of 2020. As of now the education market is worth US$ 100 billion. Currently, higher education contributes 59.7 per cent of the market size, school education 38.1 per cent, pre-school segment 1.6 per cent, and technology and multi-media the remaining 0.6 per cent.
According to data released by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), the education sector will experience a boom in terms of investment with the total amount of Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) inflow in India stood at US$ 1,209.40 million from April 2000 to December 2016. Also, with the focus on digital literacy the Government of India aims to increase digital literacy to at least 50 per cent of Indians from currently 15 per cent over a period of next three years.
