There are huge expectations from the Online Test Preparation Market in India.
In India, there are about 15 million students preparing for various competitive exams. And the most common type of online teaching in India comprises of the online test preparation.
Education sector is a huge one but not the entire part of it can be managed commercially. However, when speaking of a part that is test preparation, it is one of the promising areas to start off a good business model as the number of students appearing for various competitive exams is huge. The estimated worth of online test preparation for the year 2017-18 is about INR 40 Bn with an increase of 20% in last half decade.
Increasing Market Size of Online Education in India
As per Ken Research’s report, during the period FY’ 2010 – FY’2015, the online test preparation market grew at an unprecedented CAGR of 17.8%. And this is expected to outperform the overall test preparation market in the next 5 years. In the same report it was highlighted that the online test preparation market is expected to have around 19-26% share in the total market ( about $100 Bn) by FY’ 2020-21.
The pictorial representation also explains on the total market size of online education industry in India of which online test preparation market is just a part. The image can be seen here.
Reasons that Led to the Rise of This Market Trend
Reasons such as convenience, flexibility and affordability combined with modern trends have led to the rise or expansion of the market in each year. And with it, the other pertinent reasons were the rise in the base of smartphone users, rise in new technologies, increase in e-enrollments, increasing competition and the inability on the part of the institutions, these were the main propelling factors that helped the market to grow in India. To read these factors in detail, click here.
Trend such as competitive exams going online, easy accessibility to internet and development of interactive study material have also worked well along with the factors just mentioned above. Start-ups dealing with online test preparation materials are also to be given credits for bringing in innovation and affordable ways by which users are able to use the materials handy.
And with lowering emphasis upon traditional education system such as coaching/tuition, it is expected that newer concepts such as MOOC or what is commonly known as Massive Open Online Courses are expected to gain popularity amongst students and working professionals.
Prominent Indian Start-ups
1. Embibe– This Company is backed by Lightbox.vc and helps students prepare exams like JEE/BITSAT (engineering), AIPMT/CET/AIIMS (medical) with a strong underlying tech – an AI platform. The best part of this site is that, students on this site can actually take reference of real exam question papers of previous years and practice on them to attain proficiency.
It is an online test preparation platform offering course in both Hindi and English covering 20 exams across MBA, Banking & Government Job Exam categories. Most of its user base comprise of the tier 2& 3 cities of India.
2. Testbook– it is another very popular company that have entered into the online test preparation area helping the students crack GATE and banking exams. This company was built by alumni of IIT Bombay and Delhi. By logging in this site, students can actually enhance their reading confidence and qualify for any competitive exams at an ease.
3. Toppr– It is a learning App that focuses on IIT JEE and pre medical exams. It is also a study guide for the CBSE, ICSE, State Boards and JEE, NEET exams. This the online video lectures available on the site also serves as a great learning tool and boost the confidence level of students to perform their best.
4. EntrancePrime– It is an online site that helps for the preparation of IIT JEE exams with its very resourceful online video helps, mock test series, revision notes, study materials and many other helpful aids that any student appearing for entrance exams would be in search of for exam preparation.
It is a Noida Based self-funded venture with about 1.5 lakh registered students on its account.
5. OliveBoard –Reported just last June 2017 that this company founded by Abhishek Patil had crossed 1 million users on its platform. You could view the complete report here. Now this was covered hugely because not many EdTech companies manage to reach such a massive user base within a span of just few years.
Though we have just spoken about the five edtech start-ups in the online test prep space, there are many other companies who are working relentlessly to grow this market to a desired level. We only hope this rising trend in the market will enhance the level of education and compliment classroom learning in a better way.
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