By Prof Pravesh Biyani
Catwoman, played by Anne Hathaway, tells Batman in the movie Dark Knight Rises, “There is a storm coming, Mr Wayne…”. Today, that same sense of inevitability hangs over the world of education. The perfect storm of AI and the Internet has finally made landfall, and it is poised to uproot the oldest, deepest-rooted trees in the sector.
The crumbling ROI of traditional degrees
We are already facing the fears of AI taking IT jobs. According to Dario Amodei, the CEO of Anthropic, the AI coding tools alone have the potential to take away more than half of entry level jobs. The high chances of getting these jobs hitherto was the biggest reason for parents opting for computer science and allied degrees for their children, estimated to be around 40% of total engineering seats in India. To add to it, the “placement” of the remaining branches also remains largely IT centric. In a situation where job security continues to be uncertain and technology becomes obsolete every quarter, the ROI argument for a traditional four-year degree offered by tens of thousands of colleges begins to fail. For most people, the primary reason of going to college — especially the tier-2 and 3 colleges, around 90% of the total number of engineering colleges — has been the opportunity to get placed.
Education’s longstanding disconnect from employability
While it may be politically incorrect to say, the main focus of education in India has never been learning or “skill” development but jobs. Learning has been available in the internet, YouTube, NPTEL, etc. for free now for more than a decade, yet survey after survey, it is observed that the Indian youth is hardly employable. In such a scenario, the day industry wakes up to the fact that micro-courses like the ones offered online or in small sachets by various ed-tech players are just fine for its need, the degree courses will certainly face a lot of challenge in enrolment. Many pursue degrees only because they are backed by a regulatory gatekeeper—primarily the government—and because post-graduate education requires an undergraduate degree. Some people do it for pride, to look educated for various social reasons. In summary, the need for degrees is artificially made up for the vast majority of people.
The rise of micro-courses and modular learning
The times are now changing. Many companies in the US now do not ask for degrees from job applicants (in fact college dropout is now a status symbol of its own). In India also, many startups now do not need degrees but test the candidates for required skills. The advent of mass scale AI use will further ensure that people skill up further, as their past education (through degrees will be of less usage) becomes less relevant. It should be noted that hiring in senior positions in industry even today is less about degree and more about experience.
The coming disruption in higher education
We are seeing the “sacheting” of education, where students choose specialized micro-courses from multiple places over a traditional degree in one. The only remaining barriers to this shift are the existing regulatory frameworks and the historical recognition granted exclusively to degrees. Interestingly, the Government of India has felt the need to “open” the education sector by allowing students to take different courses at different places through credit transfers. In a way, it allows micro courses under the umbrella of a degree. However, once this regulation loosens up, there is a strong chance that the free market will kick in and students will be able to study according to their wishes and interests and actually acquire more skills. This will also enable more educators to join the “teaching” industry through offering micro courses and may improve the overall learning of students. Right now a student has no option but to study the courses from the professors that the college decides for them as the students are already locked-in due to the degree offered by the college. We are only one disruption away from micro courses taking on degree courses and really democratising education. The internet has already shown a glimpse, AI is showing the potential and industry recognising it big way is the last step. The government will deregulate the sector eventually. The question therefore is not IF micro courses will challenge degrees but of WHEN. The storm will come and will uproot dead trees, but the rains coming with it will also help blossom a more organic and merit-based ecosystem.
– The author is the Professor (ECE) IIIT Delhi
DISCLAIMER: The views expressed are solely of the author and ETEducation does not necessarily subscribe to it. ETEducation will not be responsible for any damage caused to any person or organisation directly or indirectly.
