Byju's, Unacademy, and upGrad, which had formed a self-regulatory consortium, are now consulting with the Advertising Standards Council of India to address ‘communication’ as one of the most pressing concerns of online communication.

The Indian Edtech Consortium (IEC) has met with the self-regulatory organization for advertising on several occasions to finalize its advertising code and how edtech products are sold.

Following a discussion between the IEC and the education ministry, officials from the ministry told the consortium that the planned self-regulatory regulations should be implemented in spirit, and that advertisements with a clear promise on jobs or any other relevant outcome should be prohibited.

The majority of edtech companies are focused on two main areas: no misleading marketing and avoiding misleading payment structures.

While the IEC collaborates closely with ASCI, the government is alleged to have advised the consortium that the initiative to create edtech codes is a positive step forward. And, as long as they are followed honestly, the government will not take a heavy-handed approach and will instead opt for a light-touch approach.

According to data from Venture Intelligence, edtech firms received over $4 billion in funding in 2021 and $2.1 billion in 2020, compared to $393 million in 2019 and $675 million in 2018.

Word on the street says that there will be a lot of consultation as advertising is important for a sector like education and its societal influence. Outside of the collaboration, large edtech firms have begun to use ASCI's expertise on their own.

As its consumer base has grown dramatically over the last two years, edtech as a sector has increasingly realized it would be scrutinized more in the future, despite the fact that the sector has attracted record financing amid tailwinds obtained by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The government also informed companies that, in the future, edtech enterprises will be required to respect data protection laws and other relevant government guidelines on consumer rights and data protection.

“We do keep reviewing our guidelines from time to time to keep pace with emerging consumer concerns. For all new guidelines, we undertake extensive stakeholder consultations with the government, industry bodies, or members, sector experts as well as representatives of consumer organisations”, says Manisha Kapoor, secretary general, ASCI.