The Indian government has set a goal to increase student enrollment in universities by 30% by the year 2020. India must expand its educational system to meet the needs of the continuously growing population. In order to improve education in India, the nation would also need a few thousand more universities. The existing universities would also require expansion.

Currently, only 12% of students in India are able to secure spots in Indian universities. This leaves out a large pool of talented students who could benefit from a university-level education. Coursera, the online Californian company, currently has 17 million registered students and is looking to expand in India.

Coursera provides free online courses from 140 to non-degree-seeking students from such widely-known universities as Stanford, Yale or Columbia. These “Moocs” (or massive open online courses) allow students to study at home. Coursera looks to benefit from the Indian population by providing online education to those who are unable to attend a regular university. They have already partnered with many of the Indian universities, such as Udacity.

Coursera does not provide exams or degrees, but it does give certificates after a course has been completed. While Coursera provides their online courses without payment, the certificates that require completion exams can cost between $30 and $100. This allows students in low economic standing to continue their education and find additional job opportunities based on their skills.

There are currently 1.3 million Indian students using Coursera, making India the largest concentration of online students outside of China or the U.S. Employers are also using Coursera to provide further education for their employees, such as online stock brokerage firm Zerodha.

CEO Nithin Kamath of Zerodha intends to further the education and credibility of Zerodha’s employees in any way possible. He says, “When we come across courses that we think is something our employees need to know, we encourage them to take it up.”

Courses related to data science and information technology are the most popular for Indian students using Coursera. Consequently, this indicates that there is a growing demand for skilled workers in India’s software industry. Coursera seeks to increase its own impact on education in India by providing general courses in Hindi or other local languages.

Catering to the concerns of many students, Coursera is also focusing on providing learning opportunities that are more job-relevant. Similar Indian programs, such as Edureka or Simplilearn, have already begun to do so. The emergence of online education in India provides opportunities for students who would otherwise have none.

– Amanda Panella

Photo: Flickr