Pearson India Study On The Rising Demand Of Online Learning Among Indian Adults

A study on adult learner behavior across five countries, by the Indian digital learning company Pearson India, suggests that Indian learners are least price sensitive while choosing a course. Pearson Study of Adult Learners survey claims that a major section of the learner’s population in India, around 28%, is inclined towards short courses, where at present 27% are presnetly pursuing short term courses. Only 23% of the learners’ lookout for qualification courses from a recognized professional body. And about 46% of Indian learners plan to do post graduate and currently, 39% have opt for BA degree courses. This survey was conducted among the learners base of age between 18 years and 65 years, from the countries of Australia, India, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom. Comparison was done on the factors of English fluency and enrolled or intention to enroll in an education course in the coming three years. “Many job roles have become irrelevant as the new age business landscape and the advancement of technology, which has created a seismic shift in the industry. So, Indian professionals have realized the need to upgrade their skill through short courses. A well structured and non-degree course has the potential to enhance the learning experience and thus, producing a measurable impact. There are more opportunities in the domains like analytics and blockchain amongst others,” explained the Vice President of Pearson Professional Programs (PPP) of Pearson India, Mr Varun Dhamija. He also said, “Most of the adult learners like the concept of integrating passive online learning and active learning in-person.”

While the roar in India is for digitization, blended learning is also making its way into the path of Indian learners and professionals. In this survey, the individual participants expressed the importance of social, emotional and experiential learning in order to flourish in the job market, and also said that a hybrid or blended leaning is equally important. Along with this, 22% of them said that they prefer video lecture format, however, still a whopping 32% learner prefers teacher-student learning, that is followed by a 26% self-directed learners and 49% of blended learners.

Another group of 47% Indian learners is more concerned about course credibility and they prefer to balance the course with other commitments. And 27% learners face difficulty in choosing the right credible course from the long available options. In fact, in today's market, the branches which have the biggest hold among the Indian learners in the market are: Information Technology (45%), Management & Commerce (39%) and Society & Culture (37%). The source of information on the course are botained by the learners from television advertising, where 58% Indian learners remember the recent advertising university on TV. 74% learners see the adds online and 67% gets the information from social media. The study also suggests that 49% learners prefer international course providers.