YouTube set to enter the Indian EdTech space with a new service, to take on Byju’s, Unacademy

Before EdTech platforms were a thing in India, students and teachers alike often turned to YouTube for educational videos on a variety of topics. Even with the advent of platforms like Byju’s and Unacademy, students and teachers, still turn to the platform for educational content. 

In a move that may shake up the Indian EdTech sector for good, YouTube is set to start its own educational service called Courses, and take on companies like Byju’s and Unacademy. Image Credit: Pexels

Having understood the opportunity and the position they have in the Indian education system, Google has announced that YouTube will be taking more steps to make their educational videos more appealing to educators and students. YouTube will be entering into the EdTech space in India, and competing against companies like Byju’s and Unacademy.

Google pointed to an Oxford Economics Study that found that YouTube’s creative ecosystem contributed over $1.2 billion to the Indian GDP last year and supported over 750,000 full-time equivalent jobs. The educational segment on the platform, which hasn’t been organised or rather optimised for creators is bound to add significantly to these figures. 

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At its annual India conference on Monday, Google unveiled Courses, a feature that will seek to bring a structured learning experience on YouTube. Under the new programme, YouTube will be creating a vertical that would especially cater to educators on the platform, and even help them to monetise their content.

YouTube’s Courses will cover a range of academic, as well as vocational subjects. Students or end users will need to buy a course, to watch the videos. However, they will also have the option to watch a limited number of videos from educators for free, but with ads. 

Teachers, or educators who sign up, will be able to publish and organise their videos into a series, and also provide reading materials and worksheets right through the app. They will also have complete independence of whether to charge for their course content or to provide them for free.

The feature is currently in beta and will roll out to users in India “soon,” and will represent a “new monetization option for our creators,” the company said, adding that it has partnered with several local creators (LearnoHub, Speak English With Aishwarya and Telusko) to develop courses across academic and vocational subjects in various Indian languages.