How Razorpay Can Help Educators Optimize their Online Education Initiatives

“Who dares to teach must never cease to learn.”

– John Cotton Dana

Up until March 2020, the words’ education’ and ‘classroom’ conjured up similar images. A room full of students, sitting on their desks and chairs. A teacher writes on the board while explaining concepts side by side. And above all, a collaborative environment where everyone was eager to learn and have fun with each other.

Post the lockdown, this image has changed completely. Instead of classes, now chat rooms are full of students. Teachers are using online platforms in place of chalks and blackboards. But what is constant is the eagerness to teach and learn from each other. This change would have been much more severe, if not for the early ‘adapters’ of the education sector.

Companies, institutions and individuals in the education sector didn’t let the lockdown affect them. We had teachers and home tutors who modified their methods to teach online. Some companies came up with resources that assist online education. And finally, many institutions took their operations online so that learning wouldn’t stop.

With edtech being the norm of 2020’s education sphere, Razorpay is here to help all online educators. From instant payments to easy checkouts, read this article to explore how we can assist you.

Online education: India’s new normal during lockdown

The lockdown in India imposed on the 24th of March has impacted around 0.32 billion students, according to UNESCO.

Shutting the doors of educational institutions due to the pandemic did not imply closing the doors to education. This is when India instantly and effectively accepted online education as the way out.

In the pre-COVID time, India was slowly progressing towards online learning. Online learning refers to offering courses beyond school learning, which are entirely virtual. This includes sites like Coursera, Vedantu and UpGrad, which offer massively open online courses (MOCC).

However, what we saw post-lockdown was a rise in online education. According to indiaeducation.net, Online Education is any form of learning where students use their home computers and the internet to study. For the current context, this included schools taking their classes online and tuition sessions being held via video conferencing.

Delving deeper into online education in India

Here are some statistics which showcase the rising popularity of online education in India, especially after March 2020.

• As per Businesswire, the online education market in India is expected to grow by USD 14.33 billion during 2020-2024.
• Community by Nasscom Insights notes that a 50% rise has been observed in the engagement level of students during the lockdown period.
• BARC India and Nielsen, in a recent report, mention that there has been a 30% increase in the time spent on education apps on smartphones since the lockdown.
• A survey conducted by The Wire reveals that 45% of students are availing online private tuitions to follow-up with school studies.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been vocal about how online classes are becoming a “culture” in India amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. In his I-Day speech, the PM said, “…digital transaction and online classes, all of it is the new norm now”.

With learning going digital, your business set-up also needs to be digital and secure.

The check-list for effective online education 

Many educators, from school teachers to tuition masters, felt the need to take their teaching online, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Whether you are a first-time online educator or an experienced business, navigating the online education space can be a little tricky. Here are some must-have aspects of practical online education spaces.

High-quality video content

Video-based learning is primarily what drives online education. This can be in the form of live sessions over video conferencing apps. Sometimes, pre-recorded video lessons are also available, which gives students an option to view them anytime. As an educator, always ensure that the video quality is clear, understandable and hassle-free to provide an excellent experience for your students.

• Live classes: If you are a tutor or school teacher who interacts with students in live sessions, use video conferencing apps like Zoom or Google Meet. To inculcate an interactive video learning experience, you can also look at apps like LiveBoard Interactive Whiteboard and Google Classroom
• Pre-recorded sessions: To record your video lecture, you will need proper lighting, a microphone and a webcam or built-in camera. Softwares like Podia and Panopto help in efficient recording and editing of the final video

Efficient scheduling systems

Online sessions can be overwhelming for both the teacher and the student, if not planned effectively. In the post-lockdown months, students are feeling burdened with different online classes.

According to a study undertaken by The Wire, students today are being subjected to screen time of 5-10 hours daily for educational purposes.

If you are an online educator, then you must plan your day keeping in mind your student groups. Whether you are an individual tutor or part of an edtech venture, always keep time aside for doubt sessions and breather activities. This helps in reducing the pressures of continuous online classes for students.

Robust payment systems

Earlier, schools and colleges used to depend on physical banking, cheques and demand drafts for fee payments. Tutors relied on cash payments or credit systems. The payment systems of edtech ventures weren’t ready to handle the massive influx of customers post lockdown.

With education going online, payment systems also have to change. Every educator and venture that is going online needs a secure and robust platform for accepting payments. Switching from offline payments to online methods can seem daunting. But with the perfect payment partner, it can be a smooth-sailing experience.

At Razorpay, we have a diverse and efficient product suite for all your needs. Explore our different online payment options to make your online teaching experience seamless.

Razorpay for online education: The perfect payments solution

If you are looking for a safe and efficient way to conduct digital transactions for your online education venture, then search no more. Razorpay’s products are designed to make online transactions quick and secure. This means that you can focus on your business venture without worrying about payment-related formalities.

Let us take an example to understand the products better. Sheela Sharma is a 35-year old tutor, residing in Pitampura area of New Delhi. After a brief stint at teaching, she started tutoring the kids in her neighbourhood. The income from tuitions assisted her financially while allowing her to pursue her passion for teaching.

Since the lockdown commenced, no parent was willing to send their children for tuitions. She was quick to adapt to the times and started taking online classes on Zoom. However, she still needed an easy and efficient way to accept payments online. 

Let’s see how Razorpay’s different products can help her in specialised ways.

Razorpay Payment Links

Payment Links are one of the easiest ways to accept payments online. You can simply generate a link from the Razorpay Dashboard or ePOS app and share it with your clients. Payments can be made within minutes, by clicking on the link.

Razorpay Payment Links ensure safe money movement with our 100% secure ecosystem guarded with PCI DSS compliance. These are extremely simple to generate and require no prior coding or design knowledge. It offers more than 100 payment options to a customer which ensures timely and accurate payment. 

For an online tutor like Sheela, the process becomes highly simplified. She just has to share the Payment Link with the parents in her list. From SMS to WhatsApp, she can choose any platform to share the link and accept payments. With our ePOS app, Sheela can save time on copying and pasting the link and share directly on her chosen platform.

Razorpay Payment Buttons

Let’s suppose Sheela, with the help of her son, makes a small website on WordPress about her tuition services. It features her test series, notes, video sessions and the different tuition packs available. She also wants to add a checkout payment option but doesn’t have the resources to integrate a payment gateway.

[Also read: Introducing Razorpay Payment Button – The Easiest Way to Get Paid!]

Razorpay Payment Button is the correct choice for her. This allows you to accept payments on any website or webpage by simply adding a line of code. Within 5 minutes, you will have a customised code embedded on your website to start accepting payments.

Payment Buttons can help you:

• Add an integrated checkout on your website
• Start accepting fees without any integration or coding efforts
• Use one of our existing templates or create one of your own

Razorpay Subscriptions

Tuitions, in India primarily, operate on a monthly or bi-monthly basis. This means that every month tuition centres and tutors like Sheela have to indulge in the hassle of reminding, securing and maintaining payment records. So for educators – individual and institution – looking to make this process hassle-free, we bring you Razorpay Subscriptions.

Razorpay Subscriptions is a means to collect recurring payments without troubling the customer to intervene at each payment. This means that educational professionals can obtain a steady flow of fee payments without worrying about operational barriers.

[Related Read: Automate Your Subscriptions Seamlessly using Razorpay]

Nowadays, recurring payments via cards are becoming less popular with the rise of digital payments. Thus, Razorpay Subscriptions also brings with it the useful feature of UPI AutoPay. Under this feature, customers can set up recurring payments within minutes via their UPI app. It ensures complete visibility and flexibility and the customer has full control over his regular payments.

For someone like Sheela, who is a first-time digital educator, the process to activate this method of payment is extremely simple.

• Create a Subscription plan using Razorpay Dashboard
• The Dashboard will generate a shareable link
• Share the link over email, SMS or Whatsapp as needed
• Customers can click on the link and make their payment
• Upon the first payment, customers become Subscribers 
• Hereon, the payment will be automatically deducted during every billing cycle, reducing the hassle for payers and payees

Razorpay Payment Pages

We assumed earlier that Sheela had set up a small website for her classes. However, setting up any website requires time, effort and sometimes, extensive coding knowledge. For educators like Sheela who want to give information and receive payments quickly, Razorpay has a better alternative.

With Razorpay Payment Pages, you can set up your venture’s mini-website in less than 5 minutes. Payment Pages allow you to add your business information, showcase pictures and accept payments – all in one. With our ready-to-use templates, you can accept payments for multiple payment modes.

Learn how to set up your own Payment Page

Thus, Sheela and hundreds of tutors like her just need to enter details about their classes, subjects offered and edit the payment details. They can then share the link of the Payment Page with their students and parents. They will be able to make payment easily within minutes via the shared link.

Other products from Razorpay

Razorpay Payment Gateway

A payment gateway is like a portal that connects your bank account to the platform where your transactions take place. This third-party addition is the simplest way for a business to collect online payments via their website.

If your online education venture has a website or an app, then Razorpay Payment Gateway should be your go-to option. 

Razorpay Invoices

A GST invoice is an essential document which is issued by the seller to the buyer of goods and services. Students and parents availing any kind of educational service can demand a GST invoice. This is a good practice both for the provider as well as the receiver of services.

[Read more: Create GST Invoices Within Minutes & Save Big on Time & Efforts]

Razorpay Invoices are an efficient way to generate GST-compliant invoices quickly. You need to log in to the Dashboard and fill the requisite details. In no time, you can create invoices for the payment made, to share with your students.

Razorpay SmartCollect

Razorpay SmartCollect is a one-stop solution for online education ventures looking to collect multiple payments securely. It enables you to create as many virtual accounts as needed and collect payments from them.

It is particularly useful to track a high amount of transactions coming from multiple sources. SmartCollect gives the added advantage of actionable insights and customisable account numbers, making your online transactions easier.

Taking education online with Razorpay

At Razorpay, we have always supported businesses and individuals who want to contribute to the mission of Digital India. Online education is the next wave in digital literacy which will ensure that physical boundaries don’t stop our learning. 

Are you a tutor or venture taking education online? Sign up today on Razorpay and explore our product suite for education. Together let’s make knowledge seamless and accessible.