ALL BETS ON EDUTECH

Held at New Delhi’s Oberoi Hotel on June 28, the India Today Education Conclave was a lively event attended by several senior academics, school and college administrators, edutech entrepreneurs and politicians. Alongside an award ceremony for the top-ranked colleges in the 2022 India Today Group-MDRA Best Colleges survey, the conclave also saw discussions on topics relating to education, from blended classrooms and online learning to India’s future as an edutech hub, the sustainability of digital education and the importance of hands-on learning.

The event’s keynote address was given by the Union minister for education Dharmendra Pradhan. Noting the importance of access to quality education, Pradhan described the major challenges faced by his ministry—for one, the huge gap between supply and demand. “Our [total student] population is about 523 million,” he said. “If I put together [all enrolled students], including those in anganwadis, schools, higher education institutions and those