Paytm is making its entry into the edu-tech sector by offering a bouquet of services that can be helpful to the student community as well as the parents. There will be a financial angle to this undoubtedly, but that would only be part of the package that is being proposed by Paytm.
It will start with providing career guidance on what options students have once they leave school. This could contain information on the 25,000 colleges that figure in their database, the kind of courses being offered etc.
The assistance to the students in the next stage can include payments where the educational institutions may be able to accept payments directly from the Paytm app from the students or their parents’ mobile phones. Then there would be the support for coaching, obtaining scholarships, preparation for tests, getting and filling admission forms etc.
Lastly, Paytm can come up with related financial products like educational loans, insurance where required and so on.
Some of the organisations and institutions that Paytm has already tied up with include Railway Recruitment Board, Maharashtra Public Service Commission, National Testing Agency, Indian Navy, Amity University, VIT, Manipal University, AKTU and Army Public Schools.
Though there are educational loan products available from the public sector banks, students and parents don’t find it easy to obtain loan approvals. The banks insist on too much documentation and put tough conditions and/or take too much time to process the loans resulting in the students and their parents left to face a lot of uncertainties. Hopefully, Paytm can address some of these issues and make it simpler to get an educational loan. It will also help in creating a more level playing field in the field of higher education. Lack of funds is one of the major reasons a large part of the deserving student community cannot pursue higher education.