Indian online schools see rising demand from Gulf families. What's driving it

A Vikalp India survey found most overseas online students are based in four Gulf countries. The pattern points to rising demand for flexible Indian schooling among expatriate families.Online schooling in India has gained major traction as parents increasingly enrol their children on more accessible digital schooling platforms. While traditional schooling remains at the centre of a debate over its future, newer models are gaining ground, particularly among families living outside India who want to retain an Indian education pathway.A survey by Vikalp India shows that 72.1% of its overseas students pursuing online schooling are from four Gulf countries — the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar. The finding is of importance given the large Indian-origin population in these countries and points to a growing need among expatriate families for schooling that combines an Indian curriculum with the flexibility that online education tends to provide.The UAE accounts for 27.4% of Vikalp India's overseas students, followed by Saudi Arabia at 25.4%. Kuwait contributes 10.1% and Qatar 9.2%. Together, the UAE and Saudi Arabia alone account for 52.8% of the overseas student base.The survey covers students across 18 countries, suggesting that the trend is not confined to the Gulf. Egypt accounts for 7.5% of students, Germany 7%, the UK 3.7% and Russia 3.1%. Canada and the US contribute 1.7% and 1.6%, respectively. Focusing on home, in India there has also been a rise in total enrolments from metro cities, including Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai, they account for seven out of 10 online learning enrolments as we discuss.Dinesh Gupta, Founder and CEO of Vikalp India, while discussing the current landscape, said the concentration in the Gulf offers an indication of how online schooling can help families abroad maintain continuity with Indian education. “The concentration of overseas students in the Gulf is an interesting indicator of how online schooling is enabling Indian education to remain accessible to families living outside the country,” Gupta said. He added that the presence of students across 18 countries showed that the model was extending beyond a single region as families looked for more flexible schooling pathways.The appeal, however, is not simply that classes are delivered through the internet. Gupta argues that parents are increasingly looking for a combination of smaller classes, experiential learning, teacher-led instruction and technology-enabled personalisation.The online classes module generally have six to nine students, allowing teachers to follow individual learners more closely than in conventional classrooms that may have 30 to 50 students.The stated approach is to begin with hands-on activities and learning aids before moving children towards abstract concepts.Artificial intelligence is intended to strengthen this process rather than replace teachers.According to Gupta, AI can analyse performance, identify learning gaps, provide feedback and suggest interventions, while teachers remain responsible for understanding the child and guiding the learning process.This distinction is becoming important as parents' questions about online schooling become more sophisticated. Concerns that once centred on whether children could learn effectively online have shifted towards curriculum quality, screen time, peer interaction, teacher quality, assessment and the use of AI.Parents, Gupta said, increasingly want to know whether an online curriculum can match that of a good physical school, how learning gaps are identified, how much time children actually spend looking at screens and whether they receive adequate opportunities for social and emotional development.The wider digital ecosystem has also changed substantially since the pandemic. Gupta cited ASER 2024 data showing that smartphone ownership among surveyed rural households rose from 36% in 2018 to 74% in 2022 and 84% in 2024.Among children aged 14-16, 82.2% knew how to use a smartphone and 57% had used one for an educational activity during the preceding week.The implication, he said, is that digital learning has moved beyond its pandemic-era role as an emergency substitute for classrooms. COVID-19 accelerated acceptance of digital tools, changing lifestyles created a continuing demand for flexibility, and AI is now making digital learning more personalised.“AI acts as an accelerator, not the initial catalyst,” Gupta said.The distinction is important because market data on online education does not necessarily translate into evidence about full-time K-12 online schooling.One industry estimate places India's broader online education market at about 46,297 crore in FY2023, with an estimated compound annual growth rate of 27.49% between FY2024 and FY2029. The market includes several categories of online education and therefore cannot be treated as a direct measure of online schooling.- EndsPublished By: Rishab ChauhanPublished On: Aug 24, 2026 20:09 IST