By Sunit Gajbhiye, Co-Founder, Financepeer
We all are well aware of the proverb “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” . This signifies how important it is for children to indulge in activities other than just studying. More and more people in the educational sector agree on the importance of learning things other than just academics.It is important to understand Non-academic courses are equally important when compared to studies. Studying helps your kid gain knowledge, but non-academic courses help in the overall development of your kid .it’s becoming more and more clear that the key to a child’s success is learning a wide variety of skills—including non-academic skills,thus helping the kid in their holistic development, and your kid can pursue interest outside a regular and standardized academic course.
“Why are non-academic courses even important?” Non-academic courses help in developing various skills and are necessary as the kid evolves. As the decade evolves,the education industry has changed too,depending on the career, non-academic courses will determine the success of an individual.
In the century of fast digital changes, there are many non-academic courses offered by a lot of edtech online learning platforms.According to the sources, the market for co-curricular and extra-curricular learning is estimated to be $10 billion in India alone and around $200 billion globally. These platforms cater the kids with various courses as, Fashion designing ,art ,yoga, dance, life skills ,these courses helps the child to explore themselves and know their passion and interest. A decade back the focus was on academic courses and the degree achieved but now with changing times the focus is on overall development which can be attained by these non-academic courses
Why are Non Academic courses equally important?
● A stronger mind: Academic courses could help a child to read and solve complex problem which strengthens the mind, but extracurricular courses will take this mind strengthening even further. For example, it will train your child to maintain patience in times of intense difficulty.
● Time Management Skills: Adding more activities to your child’s schedule, has a direct effect of improving time management. Your child will manage to cope up with academic as well as non-academic activities. They learn to balance and more likely to plan out time dedicated to each activity. These courses can boost up your child’s confidence and refreshes their mind,as a result they can concentrate more on the academic front
● Opportunity to engage in new interests: These courses allows your child to pursue interests outside of a standardized academic context, exposing your child to a more diverse range of interests.
With the ongoing situation , most schools are shut and learning largely online, a bunch of edtech startups are offering extra-curricular courses to engage children and make them future-ready. The edtech industry is at its peak, helping kids to achieve an overall development.