India’s Education Ministry on Thursday issued an advisory about education technology (edtech) platforms, saying some firms are targeting families by getting the Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) mandate signed or activating the auto-debit feature.

       The Department of SchoolEducation and Literacy, it said, has received several complaints regarding such offers. "Given the pervasive impact of technology in education, many ed-tech companies have started offering courses, tutorials, coaching for competitive exams, etc. in an online mode. In this background, the parents, students and all stakeholders in school education have to be careful while deciding on opting for online content and coaching being offered by a host of Ed-tech companies," the Ministry of Education said in a statement.

       Among the things parents should consider, the Ministry has asked stakeholders to avoid automatic debit option for payment of subscription fee in freemium models.

       "Some ed-tech companies may offer the Free-Premium business model where a lot of their services might seem to be free at first glance but to gain continuous learning access, students have to opt for a paid subscription. Activation of auto-debit may result in a child accessing the paid features without realizing that he/she is no longer accessing the free services offered by the ed-tech company," it said.

       It has also asked that citizens read the terms and conditions, as their IP address and/or personal data may be tracked. They should also ask users to do a thorough background check of the edtech company, and ask for a tax invoice statement for the purchase of educational devices loaded with contents/app purchase/pendrive learning.

       "Do verify the quality of the content provided by the ed-tech companies and make sure that it is in line with the syllabus and your scope of study and is easily comprehensible by your child," it further noted.

       It asked parents to clarify all their doubts/questions regarding the payment and content before investing any amount for their child’s learning in any ed-tech company.

       There have been reports talking about people losing money because of the auto debit feature in edtech apps. Recently, in the Winter session of Parliament, Member of Parliament Karti Chidambaram raised the issue of edtech firms using practices that harm parents and students, and called for oversight and regulation of edtech platforms.

       "It’s satisfying to see the impact of one’s parliamentary interventions," he tweeted on Thursday, posting a link to the Education Ministry's advisory.

       He said these companies offer online courses which are not vetted. While he did not name any firm, many people replied tagging companies like Byju's and Unacademy.

       He also wrote to the Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, asking him to look at the "predatory marketing practices that often prey upon underprivileged parents" followed by edtech firms.

       The Education Ministry advisory further asked parents to not blindly trust the advertisements of edtech companies, not sign up for any loans of which they are not aware, avoid credit/debit cards registration on apps for subscriptions, and place an upper limit on expenditure per transaction.

       It also asked users to avoid adding their data like emails, contact numbers, card details, addresses etc. online as the data may be sold or used for later scam attacks, and also to avoid sharing any personal videos and photos.

       "At present, Ed-tech companies have seen rapid growth thereby increasing the number of students/teachers subscribing to their learning platform. The increasing number also means that platforms must be careful about the claims made regarding the services offered. It is very much evident that the Ed-tech companies which may be considered e-commerce entities have to comply with the Rules to prevent any untoward liability in the future and need to establish a dedicated mechanism in place to check for compliance with the law," the advisory said.

       It further said edtech firms also have to comply with the general rules of Advertising Standards Council of India's Code for Self-Regulation in advertising, in addition to other guidelines specified

       A Blume Ventures report estimated that the edtech market was close to $750 million in 2020 and will hit $4 billion by 2025.