“There was doubt that online education could work in preparation for competitive exams. That has been washed away by our pandemic experience,” says Aakash Chaudhry who helps lead Aakash Educational Services Limited (AESL), a leading player in India’s high stakes test prep industry. In fact, when students were studying completely online last year, AESL had its best test outcomes in 30 years. The result is that COVID revealed a hybrid sweet spot for the company. “Students and their parents learned you don't have to go to the classroom five days or six days a week. You can study four days a week at home and you can spend a day or two with the teacher just to touch upon the problems that you are not able to understand.” Chaudhry believes if online learning is leveraged well it will empower teachers to do far more than they used to, especially in healthcare education where there is a need for expansion. Currently, a limited number of medical school slots is perpetuating a huge shortage of providers which was highlighted by India’s recent agonizing struggle with a COVID surge. Listen as Chaudhry fills in host Shiv Gaglani on a new educational model that might help alleviate the shortage, and discusses whether a merger with edtech giant BYJU might extend AESL’s reach beyond India. If you like this podcast, please share it on your social channels. You

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