The code for teaching

Small cities in India are emerging as the den of online coding teachers, and women are leading the pack with their passion.

NT Features

While pursuing their passion for teaching children, a significant number of online coding teachers are satisfied with also earning a comfortable income, a new survey by Codingal has found. Eightyfive percent of the teachers surveyed by Codingal agreed that online teaching platforms have helped them monetise their passion of teaching coding, while 75 percent also expressed satisfaction with their income as an online coding instructor. Codingal is India’s leading platform for K-12 students to learn coding. The platform conducted this survey among 250 teachers across India last month.

While 65 percent of the survey participants are residents of tier two or smaller cities, a whopping 93 percent of them were female teachers. This survey as part of a larger study on the industry demand for teaching coding and what the future looks like for coding instructors. Majority of the teachers also cherish the flexibility that online teaching platforms offer them. About 93 percent of the respondents agree that online teaching platforms have given them the freedom to work when they want to.

“This survey fits well into other studies to reconfirm our view that teaching coding online in a passion economy environment has today become both monetarily and emotionally satisfying. Teaching coding languages online as a profession has already gained great momentum across the globe in recent years and there is already a huge demand for teachers, which I believe is only going to increase in the coming future,” says Vivek Prakash, cofounder of Codingal.

“Our studies have also demonstrated that new age jobs and skills like teaching coding online have truly expanded the career options for students and professionals with a knack for programming languages as well as a passion for teaching,” he adds.

The survey also highlighted a strong teacherstudents relationship. Close to 60 percent of teachers stated that online platforms have helped them build long lasting relationships with their students. Also, nearly 63 percent respondents said that they spent anywhere between 20-40 hours a week teaching coding.

“What is heartening to note on our platform is that both students and teachers overtime grow fond of each other and their bond is evident in the ways they creatively engage, leveraging coding as a medium. Many teachers have mentioned time and again that the happiness on the kids’ faces when they run the code is literally the best part of their classes and is truly rewarding and gratifying,” Vivek says.

“Teaching has been my passion since childhood. I love Computer Science and research work in the field; working with Codingal has helped me get the best of both worlds. I am learning new things which are upgrading my skills and helping me to grow my career,” says Afia Abdul Rahman, a 26 years old teacher from Meerut who teaches coding at Codingal.

About 52 percent of respondents participating in the Codingal survey said that hybrid teaching methods work better for them, while 44 percent said they prefer an online-only mode. Only 5 percent claimed to prefer offline teaching. Interestingly, close to 50 percent of respondents also agreed that they enjoyed being both a programmer and teacher. “Coding when taught in the right way is the most amazing subject to teach. Teachers can change the activity as per student understanding and interest. It’s a new world of learning which children enjoy the most. Working with Codingal has helped me improve my communication skills, presentation skills, instructional methodologies”, says Anuja Girish Joshi, another 28 years old teacher from Ahmedabad.