“A lot of teachers went back to their hometowns during their pandemic and some now have problems leaving their children or in-laws at home, so they prefer to work remotely. If schools insist on their return, they now have the option of joining startups as they are now trained to take online classes,” said the principal of an international school in Hyderabad, requesting anonymity. Although the number of teachers who choose to switch may still be only a small proportion of the total number of teachers, it is still a challenge for private schools, especially for higher income groups, as individual classes can then opens from
While the number of teachers choosing to switch from teaching may still be only a small proportion of the total number of teachers, it is still a challenge for private schools, especially those catering to higher income groups, as individual Classes reopen. Exact data is hard to come by as it requires all schools to share details accurately. But it is a growing concern for private schools, especially as many have invested in developing teachers’ digital academic skills, says Maya Menon, founder-director of Bengaluru-based The Teacher Foundation, which works with schools across the country. Works. “Teachers also disclose that they may be hired by edtech companies because they have honed these skills over the past year and a half.”
Edtech startup Vedantu, which was recently valued at over $1 billion, says it has seen a definite spike in applications from teachers with traditional teaching backgrounds during the pandemic. “What we have seen in our hiring and onboarding is that they (teachers) have become a lot more comfortable with online tools. Earlier, we had to put a lot of effort into training as they got used to the offline world,” says Nikhil Pawar, Head of Courses- Elementary Education, Vedantu. To meet the growing demand, the startup has increased the number of teachers to more than 2,500 since the pandemic began.
The edtech startup, which offers live online math classes, has seen a huge surge in applications for teaching jobs from both experienced teachers and others, says Manan Khurma, founder of Alphabet-backed QMath. “For individuals who lost their jobs or faced pay cuts in the pandemic, Qmath became their primary source of income. For others, who teach fewer hours, it is a supplementary source,” says Khurma.
Well-funded startups are also able to offer better compensation in general. “Private schools pay an average of Rs 30,000-50,000 per month and there will be a lot of additional charges which are automatic on platforms like ours. By spending 75% of the time of a private school teacher, a teacher on our platform can earn double the money,” says Khurma. Vedantu’s Pawar says the star teachers on his platform, who are teachers and entertainers as well as social media savvy, can earn up to Rs 50 lakh, which can be up to Rs 1 crore at times, according to Vedantu. K Pawar says
For many teachers, their satisfaction comes from teaching someone in front of them and they will stick to the traditional model but there are teachers who see joining edtech platforms as the job of the future and are applying, says senior vice president Rajasekhar Ratre. is product management at Toppr, which was acquired by edtech behemoth Byju’s earlier this year. “Edtech is attracting the best teaching talent in the country,” Ratray says. With the pandemic and lockdown increasing acceptance of virtual classes, the demand for teacher talent, startups say, is only likely to continue.