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Amid increasing scrutiny of the edtech sector, Ronnie Screwvala, Chairperson and Co-founder of upGrad, raised a crucial question: “How can the context of learning [and] skilling not be relevant?” He highlighted the importance of these areas, especially in a country with a population as large as India’s.

With even the government embedding jobs and skilling into its third electoral manifesto, Screwvala stressed that India’s path to 2029 and beyond hinges on empowering its workforce through learning and skilling.

“If you had one rotten apple in the K-12 space, why would the whole massive learning [and] skilling part be under question under any circumstance?” Screwvala asked during a fireside chat at TechSparks 2024.

These remarks come at a turbulent time for the edtech sector, with BYJU’S—once valued at $22 billion in 2022—now struggling with insolvency issues.

“You had a few unicorns or a few people who raised money and could not make it to the finishing line. That does not mean a sector gets tainted,” the upGrad Chairman said at the 15th edition of YourStory’s annual startup-tech summit in Bengaluru.

“The airline industry has had failures. People are still flying IndiGo. Nobody is asking the IndiGo guy just because Jet and Kingfisher happened, what is the future of the airline industry? In fact, the future of the airline industry is good,” he added.

Dealing with challenges

Screwvala believes that the first and most important graceful thing is acceptance. “If you don’t accept [that] you have a problem, you are not going to be able to solve it,” he pointed out.

The upGrad co-founder also emphasised the importance of adopting a “long-term” perspective, noting that many people “get fidgety” when confronted with problems and feel compelled to take immediate action. However, “Sometimes, not acting is a really smart move,” he said.

“There’s a power in not acting, because the minute you are reactive, everyone knows you. The minute you are not reactive, you become unpredictable. And unpredictability is a good thing in leadership,” Screwvala remarked.