Coursera expects to bring hundreds of Indian universities on board

Online education platform Coursera on Thursday said it expects to bring on board its platform hundreds of Indian universities over the next three years. The company has partnered with 10 Indian universities and institutes, including Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS) and Manipal Global Education Services, to offer courses available on its platform. "We have 10 universities who have purchased Coursera for the campus."

Cost being absorbed by universities

In every case, the cost is being absorbed by universities. They may decide to include it at some point of time in tuition cost. There are 911 universities in India. We expect hundreds of Indian universities to use Coursera in the next three years," Coursera Chief Executive Officer Jeff Maggioncalda said on the sidelines of an event here. Coursera claims that it has 4.8 million registered learners and is adding over 1 lakh learners per month in India. "India is our second-largest market outside the US," Maggioncalda said.

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Government's desire to increase gross enrolment ratio

He said the government has expressed its desire to increase gross enrolment ratio to around 30 per cent by 2020 from 25 per cent at present. "We estimate to meet this target, India would require to build around 250 new universities or increase the capacity of existing universities. The government has been kind enough to allow 20 per cent course credit to be pursued online," Maggioncalda said. He said that if demand rises in India, the company will build a national training centre in the country to help universities adopt online studies.

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NMIMS Vice-Chancellor Rajan Saxena said the institute has started offering 20 credits to their students who successfully completed some courses available on Coursera. "On completion of these 20 credits, we offer B.Tech (Honour) degree to the student," Saxena said.

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