Online Learning Market To Touch $5 billion by 2025

Higher education over the internet is quickly becoming the fastest-growing sub-segment of EdTech. According to a Redseer Consulting report, online education is expected to reach $5 billion by 2025, including lifelong learning.

Several macroeconomic reasons will fuel this increase, including loosening of degree regulations, supply-side capacity shortfalls, recognition of the need for higher education among students and professionals, and the shift to the credit system.

EdTech companies will now be able to join with universities to offer online degrees thanks to a loosening of degree requirements.

Unbundling courses and democratizing access increase demand for online higher education while also increasing completion rates.

According to the report, despite a 3X increase in the average ticket size compared to the K12 category, the user base for online higher education expanded by 75% in 2021 alone.

In fact, the online higher education sector is currently comparable in size to the largest EdTech segments (ie, K6-12 including test prep).

According to the research, the market for online lifelong learning will grow even more with “additional push following Covid as economic uncertainty further reinforces the necessity for continual learning.”

Aside from Covid, additional factors driving growth include existing skills becoming increasingly obsolete, job creation lagging behind annual additions to the workforce and a mismatch between industry requirements and college curricula.

“India’s expanding edtech business, which saw several startups and increased funding during the epidemic, is expecting further boost on the strength of development in higher education and lifelong learning categories,” said Abhishek Gupta, Engagement Manager, Redseer.

It’s reasonable to say that online higher education has wowed us all by becoming the fastest-growing area. There was also a significant increase in M&A (mergers and acquisitions) activity, according to the findings.