Mumbai-based uFaber Edutech Pvt Ltd. (estb. 2014) is an online education startup that promises personalised education to its users. The ed-tech platform’s 3000 ‘women only’ force of online trainers and teachers provide one-on-one instruction to users who can opt for programmes from among uFaber’s 100 plus courses. Rohit Jain, Founder, uFaber speaks with Dipta Joshi about the platform’s current offerings in the competitive national test preparations, skill development and language study space and its future plans to bring on board more than 15000 teachers from across India.
Q) How is uFaber different from other ed-tech platforms offering online coaching?
A) As part of our research we had scores of conversations with online users about the difficulties related to online courses and that realised personalised education is an effective social engagement tool in education. One-on-one interaction with teachers promotes higher student engagement as students are inspired and motivated while connecting with teachers, resolving their doubts and communicating their ideas. We discovered that ‘personalisation’ was the missing link in the existing platforms and thus our promise to personalise coaching for each of our users.
We also follow a policy of hiring women trainers only. Many women in our team have turned to online teaching after a long hiatus in their job owing to a variety of personal reasons (like marriage, pregnancies, pandemic etc.). We provide certification programmes for teacher training at a nominal rate before hiring them.
Q) How many courses does uFaber cover?
A) We have five different categories each of which offer multiple programmes leading to more than 100 courses being offered currently. The categories include training for public service exams, bank entrance exams, communication skill development, teacher training and K-12 school programmes.
Q) What is the idea behind the Utkarsh project?
A)The Utkarsh project was launched in the last quarter to promote students for the public service exams (UPSC). We want to identify talented individuals who aspire to study for the UPSC exams but are unable to do due to a lack of knowledge and resources. uFaber is collaborating with 500 higher education institutions across India asking them to recommend their top candidates for UPSC exams. Following a selection process wherein nominated applicants will take an aptitude test, participate in group discussions and interviews, uFaber will provide free preparation courses to the top 1000 students from these colleges.
Q) Tell us about uFaber’s Real School programme targeting K-12 students
A)The Real School programme has launched three initiatives since May this year. We offer assistance to schools that do not have the teachers, content, or resources to conduct extracurricular activities – the kind provided by international schools. Students can pick and choose activities such as learning foreign languages, communication, and journalism etc. through our ‘Masterclasses’ modules. Real School also offers a high-engagement long-term programme for kids who are interested in developing a unique skill, such as robotics, artificial intelligence and machine learning, programming, coding, drones, etc. We have recently launched the third offering for young students who aren’t satisfied with the education provided by their current school or current teachers and want to switch entirely to online education. Our teachers cover the complete school curriculum based on the Montessori school programme. So it is a full-fledged online school covering the fundamental curriculum as well as extracurricular and co-curricular activities.
Q)You seem positive about online education becoming a substitute for physical schools
A) We have noticed that parents today are more concerned about their children’s education and are ready to reassess the impact of school education on their child’s development. Parents are increasingly investing in extracurricular activities such as coding, programming, and communication while also opting for homeschooling. Another set of parental expectations is teacher quality, something we have been working on aggressively. We have already drawn up plans to have more than 15000 teachers with us in the coming years.
Q) What services does uFaber offer as a one-stop solution provider to students aiming to study abroad?
A) While we were already providing test preparations for overseas college admissions to our users the past four and a half years, we were not into the overseas admissions thus far. We have recently started providing all allied services to such applicants under our Mission Udaan programme. This makes uFaber a one-stop solution provider that helps students right from evaluating the university and its courses to writing and submitting university-specific documents along with the statement of purpose and resume etc. We handhold students through the entire process helping them with their online application forms as well as financial planning needed to fund their education by connecting students with bankers. We also support them during the visa process. uFaber’s transparency allows students to know exactly what he is getting into and thus helps them save both time and money.
Q) What are your future plans
A) Our primary focus is to increase the supply of online teachers since that remains a major problem with schools and institutes across the country. We already have more than 3000 teachers associated and aim to hire more than 15,000 teachers. Once we have thousands of teachers working from across every part of the country, we plan to start offering more programmes.
In the edtech space, we will be launching the ‘uFaber Accelerator’ programme for edtech startup companies in India. It will be the first corporate-sponsored accelerator programme focusing exclusively on the education sector while adopting a mentor-driven, deep immersion approach. uFaber will invest rupees 10 crores in the ‘uFaber Accelerator’ programme that will choose entrepreneurs seeking to expand their current products and services throughout the education spectrum, including K-12, higher education, professional education, lifelong learning, and other areas.
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