Budget 2021: Reduce GST on online education services

Despite the Covid-19 pandemic-induced lockdown in most part of 2020, the education sector was able to overcome the disruption, primarily thanks to schools collaborating with educational technology companies to impart online classes to the students.

Now, with Union Budget 2021 is just a few days away, EdTech companies are requesting a reduction on Goods & Services Tax (GST) so that they can divert the saved money to upskilling teachers in schools and colleges.

“The year 2020 turned out to be a great learning experience for the edtech industry, with the role of technology taking center stage. With digital modes of learning and teaching, and a rising demand for a technically skilled workforce defining the days ahead, digital skilling is definitely the need of the hour. As part of the upcoming union budget, it would be encouraging to both learners and edtech platforms if the government would introduce a reduction on GST for online education services. Additionally, the government should also consider including a budget focused on teacher training at both school and university levels, keeping in mind the several challenges faced in the midst of the ‘New Normal’, said Krishna Kumar, CEO & Founder, Simplilearn

Also, with the need and demand for digital skilling going high, we want the government to encourage public-private partnership model with ed-tech companies at a national and state level with a larger agenda of making Indian IT workforce skill and job-ready.” Kumar added.

"The COVID-induced pandemic was a major catalyst for technology adoption, especially in the education sector. The year 2020 laid a great foundation for online learning and we just expect the momentum to grow in 2021. Keeping in mind this pulse of the nation along with a larger agenda of skilling and making the Indian workforce job-ready, the government should consider implementing steps that will encourage investor interest to boost the growth of the sector. We would like to urge the government to reduce the GST on online education services in the 2021 budget. This will help us in providing quality education to more students. In addition to this, we also expect full support from the government in terms of fund allocation to further rise in 2021." said Mr. Prateek Shukla, Co-founder, and CEO of Masai School