Coding gains traction as key skill in schools

For example, Stemrobo Technologies has seen a 200 percent increase in demand for coding classes in 3-4 months. The startup had launched Tinker Coders—a platform to provide affordable online coding classes to K-12 students—during the peak of the pandemic. Tinker Coders has enrolled over 300,000 students and 600 instructors since its launch.

Its founder Rajeev Tiwari believes that the primary reason for this growth is “new policies like the National Education Policy 2020 that promote coding and AI in schools, and the ongoing awareness and structural change in society that is driving innovation.” is, STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math), coding, and AI (artificial intelligence) are very broad”.

In addition to India, its business-to-consumer (B2C) services are offered to users in 35 countries and regions, including the US, UK, Australia, New Zealand, the Middle East, Africa and Southeast Asia.

The demand for coding in schools has increased dramatically over the past 5-10 years, confirmed a spokesperson for WhiteHat Jr.- an online startup acquired by India’s largest edtech Byju’s in a $300 million deal in August 2020 Was. WhiteHat Jr. claims to have signed up. More than 500 schools across the country, representing more than 125,000 students, will learn coding through a blended curriculum.

The company aims to train one million students this academic year through a ‘physical-digital mixed model’.

“At a young age, the power to comprehend and grasp any subject or activity is greater than at a later stage in our lives. Teaching children to code provides a well-organized way of introducing them to rational thinking and problem-solving skills. It helps children improve their logical and analytical thinking and enhances creativity and concentration – all skills that can be applied far beyond the realm of computer science,” said a spokesperson .

Similarly, as part of its SuperKids program, Vedantu offers a project-driven coding course for students aged 6-12.

The early coding experience among the students is expected to make India a world leader in coding. Evans Data Corp, a global research organization, says the US currently has the largest population of developers, but India is set to overtake it by 2023. Some students are even capable of turning academic coding projects into problem-solving apps.

For example, 15-year-old Aravind, a student of Whitehat Jr., from Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu, recently developed an agritech app called ‘GoldenCrop’, which helps farmers in several aspects including crop selection, soil health and timely sowing. Help is available. ,

“Golden Crop is a small effort to assist farmers in the decision making process so that they can earn better yields and lead a better life. I will keep working on this app adding more features,” said Arvind.

It is no surprise then that the market for coding for children in India is estimated to be $14 billion, with high growth potential. Coding-specific acquisitions in the edtech space point to a similar growth trajectory.

In addition to Byju’s acquisition of WhiteHat Jr., Unacademy acquired CodeChef in 2020, an online platform for algorithmic and coding, to help launch a coding skills vertical for school children. In 2021, Byju’s also acquired California-based Tynker—a leading coding platform for K-12 students—in an effort to expand into international markets.