Education

Imagine what the billions of dollars that edtechs sucked in and blew up, could have done for the 12 lakh-odd impoverished schools in the country, constantly in need of funds and barely able to keep going. (Illustration by Suneesh K.) The alarming financials of education services and products provider Byju’s , as evident from its recent disclosures, have led to much hand-wringing about the start-up ecosystem in the country. But it has far more profound and terrible implications for education in the country, currently in a state that can only be described as terrifying. Last year, in the World Competitiveness Ranking of major economies by the Switzerland-based Institute of Management Development (IMD), India was ranked 59th among 64 countries on the education parameter. While the elite Indian educational institutions like the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) do make an appearance on various global lists, for the most part it … [Read more...] about Edtech’s failure is Indian education sector’s curse to bear

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Stefan Schwab is CEO of Building Robotics, a Siemens company that combines the brands of Comfy and Enlighted . The pandemic has highlighted the need to rethink traditional working and operating models for a multitude of industries and presented opportunities for organizations in the public and private sectors to reconsider how they evolve their environments. State and local reopening requirements, Covid-safety protocols and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals have changed considerations from an energy-efficiency standpoint for buildings and operations. Now, they have a focus on energy efficiency, student and employee experiences, and additional environment, social and governance (ESG) related concerns. We can learn a few things from the U.S. education sector. Funding The Future Of Education The education sector is taking this sea change seriously, with the pandemic prompting them to … [Read more...] about The U.S. Education Sector: Building Healthier, Safer And Sustainable Environments For The Future

On Sept 29, 2022, the United States Department of Education updated the guidance for the Biden administration's student loan forgiveness plan. Under the updated policy, borrowers with privately held federal student loans are no longer eligible to receive loan forgiveness. Here's what to know. Key Takeaways Borrowers with federal student loans not held by the Education Department, specifically privately held Federal Family Education Loans (FFELs) and Perkins loans, will be ineligible for one-time debt relief. According to NPR, a Biden administration official estimated that roughly 800,000 borrowers would be directly affected by this change. The Education Department hasn't issued an official statement explaining this change, but legal experts have hypothesized that it may have been done to appease private lenders managing old FFELs. Federal Family Education Loans & Perkins Loans Are Out Back in August 2022, President Biden announced his three-part plan to … [Read more...] about Education Department Excludes Subset of Student Loans From Relief Plan

Filipino ingenuity is known for its brilliance and innovative spirit including a trait called diskarte – a combination of skill, creativity and resourcefulness – which spans across many fields. In the field of higher value-added product development however, such as in electronics and mechanization, this creative potential has erstwhile been stifled by a lack of R&D support, and the scarcity of modern laboratory equipment. It was this perennial challenge that gave rise to Makerlab, a startup some 7 years ago, who sought to make the materials and equipment needed by local innovators highly accessible to students and professional product developers. The materials and Given its mission, Makerlab recently partnered with the Advanced Manufacturing Center (AMCen) of the Department of Science and Technology to promote research and development, tapping 3D printing, also known as Additive Manufacturing. Engineering students gather at Makerlab Electronics booth in AMCen to learn … [Read more...] about Makerlab Electronics partners with DOST-AMCen

Leading life insurer Pru Life UK continues to lead the discussions on the impact of climate change on Filipinos health and financial security, as it brings together experts from health, insurance and the environment during its 2022 Healthscape media briefing. Led by the company’s President and Chief Executive Officer Eng Teng Wong and Prudential Chief Health Officer Andrew Wong along with planetary health expert Dr. Renzo Guinto and Michael Leitschkis, principal for Life Tech Solutions at consulting firm Milliman, the discussion focused on the impact of climate change on the health of Filipinos and how financial resilience through inclusive and climate-smart insurance products and services can help mitigate its effects. “Our goal as the leading life insurance company is to raise awareness on the importance of insurance protection against climate health risks so more Filipinos are educated on the effects of climate change on their health and finances. We are also working … [Read more...] about Pru Life UK gathers experts to help Filipinos mitigate climate change risks

Our son is on the computer 24/7, with YouTube, Netflix, Fortnite,” says R, the founder of a family business. “But he is the marketing head, he cannot do this at work. He gets mad when we confront him. We quarrel all the time. What do we do?” “Your son has digital addiction, so reasoning is futile,” I tell R. “You don’t argue with drug addicts—instead, they go to rehab. Go to addiction specialists.” “My wife and I were busy with the business, so we gave our son an iPad when he was born,” says R. “His yaya was supposed to use it for educational videos, but she watched her own movies. In grade school, we got him a smartphone and gaming devices. He said everyone in school had them.” This conversation came back to me when I read Dr. Victoria “Toyang” Ang-Nolasco’s book “Toddler Talking.” A developmental and behavioral pediatrician, Toyang, who was my student in college, says her mission is to “empower parents of babies and toddlers with effective parenting strategies, so they parent … [Read more...] about Smartphones and cocaine

The north is about to change with Ayala Land’s master-planned estate in San Jose del Monte: a 40-hectare development that has the makings of a future-proof metropolis They say life is what you make of it. Wherever you find yourself down the road, it is you who will ultimately decide how to live the life that you want. It also doesn’t hurt to have options and sometimes, you find that it pays to look beyond your comfort zone. This too applies to making decisions about where you want to live. Metro Manila has established itself a mecca for urban living, but so do many locales along its borders which has the added benefit of a balance between urbanization and respect for existing natural landscapes. Bulacan, for one, is a bustling province, one that still has the last vestiges of greenery, idyllic country living elements tied with the conveniences of urbanized city centers. Did you know, for example, that Bulacan was hailed the number one performing province with the highest … [Read more...] about Into the North and a well-lived life at Altaraza

SoftBank-backed edtech unicorn Unacademy has managed to cut its monthly costs to a fourth and is inching towards profitability by early next year, sources familiar with the development told Moneycontrol . Unacademy has slashed its monthly burn to Rs 50-60 crore from more than Rs 200 crore previously, sources said requesting anonymity. This has come on the back of various measures that it undertook as funding slowed down and investors turned cautious. It let go of hundreds of people, brought down its digital marketing spends, and undertook other cost-cutting measures within the organisation. “Massive efficiencies overall and this has happened without having any impact on revenue,” one of the sources cited above said. “Overall group revenue is already up a little more than 10 percent for CY22 (calendar year 2022), and the company expects its revenue to grow 15 percent by the end of this year (calendar year). Growth has slowed compared to last year, but there’s growth still … [Read more...] about SoftBank-backed Unacademy cuts monthly burn down to a fourth, eyes breakeven by January

Illustration: Suneesh In February this year, 28-year-old Shivam, a computer operator at a government office in Madhya Pradesh, was looking at ways to upskill as he sought a job that paid better than the Rs 10,000 a month he earned. He came across a YouTube advertisement of Relevel, operated by SoftBank-backed edtech unicorn Unacademy. Relevel operates on a unique selling proposition—enable job seekers to take a test and secure a job in under 15 days of clearing the test. Shivam (name changed) immediately applied for an ‘HR & Talent Acquisition Specialist Test’ of Relevel. It was free and guaranteed a package of as much as Rs 10 lakh per annum for successful candidates. The Relevel Test has often been marketed by Unacademy CEO Gaurav Munjal on Twitter as ‘absolutely free and one that guarantees a job if you clear it.’ Your degree doesn’t matter. You could get your dream job irrespective of educational background by clearing this test, Munjal said. Too good to be … [Read more...] about A difficult candidate test, broken job promises and refund dispute: Unacademy’s Relevel comes under fire

File image: Unacademy founders Roman Saini, Gaurav Munjal and Hemesh Singh SoftBank-backed edtech unicorn Unacademy will undertake an internal migration exercise for some of the company's 'redundant' employees, its co-founder and chief executive officer Gaurav Munjal told employees in an internal note. "We will continue to drive efficiency by reducing unnecessary expenses. We have some redundancies in some teams as well, so we will be moving team members from those teams to businesses that are blitzscaling like Unacademy Centers, core engineering, etc," Munjal said in the internal memo, a copy of which was viewed by Moneycontrol. "But we will not be doing any layoffs moving forward," Munjal added. To be sure, the company has laid off over 750 employees or about 12 percent of its workforce including educators and contractual employees since the start of 2022. "I still urge teams to be extremely mindful about expenses and proactively take measures to become more efficient. … [Read more...] about Unacademy to exercise internal migration for redundant employees: Gaurav Munjal