An imperative streamlining

The pandemic overhauled the education system, forcing schools and colleges to shut down in order to protect young students from the wrath of the virus. As a result, students and their parents were forced to look for alternative platforms to continue the learning process. EdTech companies came to the forefront with lighted torches. Students turned to these platforms, and parents let their children use the learning apps developed by them for online education. At least 150 million students in India entered the EdTech market.

Violations and malpractices

However, along with the rise in the profits of certain EdTech companies during this time, there has also been an escalation in the dissatisfaction of employees with respect to the working conditions they have been subjected to. Reuters has probed into, and reported several malpractices. Many employees have come forward and spoken to the media about what they have been put through. They have alleged 72 working hours a week, packed with physical and verbal abuse and threats of retrenchment in case the grueling schedule is not complied with.

Even more fraudulent practices of the company have come to light. The employees have allegedly been forced to take up loans which they cannot repay, denied lunch breaks and holidays, and their bosses have been extremely aggressive with them if the idealistic work requirements are not met. Most of the employees are young university graduates coming from low-income backgrounds. Even though the job security scenario is highly disparaging, they are forced to continue their jobs to earn the bread and butter.

Layoffs have been sudden and often, without sufficient justifications. They have sacked employees according to their whims and fancies. Furthermore, many parents were duped into purchasing their courses. Profile-chasing of students from underprivileged backgrounds have taken place, and they have been forced to purchase the courses by sugarcoating how much their education will advance if they do so.

A dip

In the meantime, at the back end of 2021, the virus began to lose its stronghold on people's lives. Schools began to reopen. This meant the students no longer had to completely rely on online learning platforms. As reported by Reuters, an EdTech company is set to lay off 2,500 employees by March 2023. The layoffs will be done mainly at its product, content, media and technology teams.

All these flawed labour practices have necessitated the company to prepare for a legal fight, as the laid off employees, through various labour unions, are considering suing the company over all its alleged wrongdoings and infringement of labour laws. It has decided to shut down its centres and offices in 60 Indian cities, and lay off a large chunk of its employees. This has gone down badly with all the executives in these cities who fear losing their jobs.

Comprehensive legal policy

The Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, focuses on conventional sectors only, and does not adequately lay its reach on new and less developed sectors such as EdTech. The reason is that when the law was drafted, these sectors were not in existence.

With the Parliament passing the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, these aspects ought to have been considered, given that the current education scenario demands such modes of learning, which are widely spread in the teaching-learning community. Unfortunately, policymakers and even labour unions have overlooked such pressing issues. This is in contrast to labour unions in Europe, which have unionised tech sector employees to promote their rights and also the interests of all the stakeholders.

As a potential solution, a legally sound and enforceable policy needs to be put in place that will determine the qualification of teachers who work here. This, and a transparency in the hiring and training process of the teachers, will further build trust and improve the quality of education imparted through such platforms. Even the course content teaching methodology needs to be examined by experts engaged through a comprehensive framework of rules. The policy must include provisions that will safeguard the interests, and control the liabilities of the employed teachers. The government must also consider incorporating the regulation of this sector under the New Education Policy, 2020, which promotes high education standards in India.

Potential rebound

With the COVID virus making a comeback, it is these EdTeches whose reign might continue in the education sector. It is not desirable that their employees lose trust. This is especially since students are now accustomed to using these platforms, and they find it easier to study using a hybrid methodology comprising both offline and online study materials. So, the framing of a policy to govern them has become even more essential and imperative. It is the need of the hour. Once it is done, several birds will be killed with one stone, the stone being a centralised regulatory policy framework governing the EdTech sector.

The writer is a student at National Law University, Odisha. Views expressed are personal