Time for Transformation: Why Edtech Companies Need to Change Their Approach

Talai Jumabaev, city — Austin, founder of GrowthHungry, Instagram, Telegram

2024 became a turning point for the EdTech industry: venture capital investment in educational technologies declined to $2.4 billion — the lowest level since 2015. The pandemic boom, which once propelled online education into rapid growth, has given way to an era of rationality. Companies that were recently focused on scaling at any cost are now forced to rethink their strategies and find new ways to monetize.

This trend is particularly evident in Central Asia, where the market, unlike the global downturn, shows cautious but steady growth, although it faces similar challenges as the rest of the world. Users increasingly complain about low content quality and unmet expectations. To remain relevant, EdTech projects in Central Asia are no longer sufficient to simply copy Western or Russian models — new approaches focused on local specifics are needed.

The problem of trust and market saturation

Rapid development of EdTech in Central Asian countries is supported by state initiatives. In Kazakhstan, the Center for Strategic Research under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan implemented a program providing an opportunity to receive free IT education for citizens aged 18 to 45. The project involved 91 schools that received grants from the state. According to the plan, about 100,000 new specialists should significantly replenish the workforce and solve the problem of shortage of qualified personnel.

Similar initiatives aimed at digitalizing education and improving qualifications are gaining momentum in Uzbekistan, which has gone the path of mass coverage by launching the "One Million Uzbek Programmers" project. This initiative provides free access to online courses in various IT fields — from data analysis to software development. The goal is not so much the preparation of narrow specialists, but rather raising the general level of digital literacy and identifying talents across the country. By 2024, more than 1.2 million young people had completed training.

In Kyrgyzstan, the development of IT education is closely linked to the ecosystem of the High Technologies Park, which acts not only as a special economic zone but also as a catalyst for educational initiatives. The main goal is to create favorable conditions for IT companies and attract investment into the high-tech sector.

However, this powerful state impulse and the resulting surge in demand for IT professions had unforeseen consequences. The market was not ready for such rapid scaling while maintaining quality, and the market was flooded with courses from dubious experts. People pay for training, but instead of knowledge, they receive superficial information that can be found for free on the internet. The IT education sector suffered the most — thousands of graduates with certificates turn out to be unprepared for real work.

Alluring promises to "become a successful programmer in three months" within courses turn out to be unrealistic, since in reality, employers no longer trust "diploma-holders" who have been trained for just a few months. Moreover, theoretical knowledge alone is insufficient to become a valuable asset for companies.

The discrepancy between the loud promises of many online schools and reality, as well as the desire to scale their business as quickly as possible and attract as many students as possible, leads to poor results and growing distrust of the info-business as a whole. This is noted by CEO and founder of Courstore Rauan Sydykov, as well as Moodle LMS implementation expert Daniyar Nugumanov.

Mismatch between specialists and market requirements

The problem is exacerbated by the fact that many courses provide superficial knowledge that does not correspond to the real requirements of companies. As a result, newly minted "specialists" face harsh reality: their skills are insufficient even for junior positions, and employers are tired of the stream of unprepared candidates.

Employers in the region note a serious gap between the preparation of graduates and market requirements. Many companies in Kazakhstan need specialists at the middle/senior level who can autonomously perform complex tasks and do not require the same level of control as beginners.

At the same time, salary requirements for specialists at all levels are rising. They expect an annual income growth of 30-40%. According to HeadHunter Kazakhstan, in the first quarter of 2024, compared to the same period last year, the average salary in IT increased by 27%, from 247,800 to 313,000 tenge. However, 23% of companies reject candidates precisely due to inflated financial expectations not backed by real qualifications. Similar trends, albeit with adjustments for the scale of the economy, are observed in other countries in the region.

Prospects for AI integration in EdTech

How can EdTech companies get out of this slump and regain market trust? The answer lies in smart integration of technologies, and above all — artificial intelligence. AI is not a magic wand, but it can become a catalyst for qualitative changes:

1. Rapid development of educational materials

Modern platforms use AI for:
— automatic creation of test tasks on completed topics
— generation of adapted lecture notes
— translation of content into national languages while maintaining terminological accuracy.

For example, some courses can now offer different explanations of the same concept at various levels of complexity depending on the student's preparation.

2. Adaptive learning programs

Intelligent systems allow:
— adjusting the sequence of topic study based on performance
— offering additional exercises for problematic sections
— changing the format of material presentation according to the learner's preferences.

3. Automated grading

AI tools are capable of:
— checking standard programming and math assignments
— analyzing text responses for compliance with key points
— highlighting code snippets or written works that require teacher attention.

4. Intelligent student support

AI-based chatbots:
— answer frequently asked questions about the program
— remind about assignment deadlines
— offer additional materials upon request.

These solutions are especially in demand in the region, where:

There is a need for education in national languages.
There is an uneven distribution of teaching staff.
Time savings for both teachers and students are important.

Why businesses need this

In a PwC Kazakhstan report, business owners shared their experience of implementing generative artificial intelligence in their work.

Many respondents noted that the use of AI allowed them to save time, delegate routine tasks to neural networks, giving people the opportunity to focus on more intellectual work.

At the same time, there are hopes that artificial intelligence will not replace human labor. When it comes to the education sector, a study by a university in Indonesia showed high support for AI as an assistant, but 57% of respondents firmly rejected the prospect of completely replacing real teachers with artificial ones.

It is important to understand: AI will not replace teachers. Recent studies confirm: people see AI as a powerful assistant, but are firmly against the complete replacement of live teachers. The role of the educator is transforming — from lecturer to mentor, facilitator, expert who helps apply knowledge in practice.

That is, neural networks are perfectly suited for increasing engagement, personalization, and optimizing educational processes and trajectories in EdTech, but they do not exclude deep involvement of real educators.

Central Asia remains a promising market for EdTech, but requires a deep understanding of its specifics: language features, predominance of mobile internet, different payment habits, influence of state regulation.

Simply copying someone else's models or chasing the number of students is a dead end. The future belongs to those EdTech companies that:

— will bet on quality and real results of graduates confirmed by the market
— will actively implement AI for personalization, increasing efficiency, and creating a unique educational experience
— will deeply understand and take into account the local context — cultural, linguistic, economic
— will build honest and transparent relationships with students and employers.

The time for transformation has come. EdTech in Central Asia must mature, become smarter and more responsible. Those who accept this challenge and can provide quality, adapted, and accessible content will gain a loyal audience and sustainable growth, leading a new wave of quality and in-demand education in the region.