Navigating the Paradigm Shift: A Strategic Analysis of the Transition from Education 4.0 to Education 5.0 in India’s Higher and Professional Education Sector

Education 4.0; Education 5.0; higher education; management education; Technology Acceptance Model; Institutional Theory; Resource-Based View; human-centric learning; digital transformation; AI in education; India; NEP 2020

India’s higher and professional education sector is undergoing a decisive paradigm shift from Education 4.0—driven by automation, artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things, and machine learning—toward Education 5.0, characterised by human–machine collaboration, personalised learning, ethical governance, and sustainability orientation. This study investigates the strategic dimensions of this transition within Indian undergraduate and postgraduate management and professional education institutions through primary survey data collected from 120 educators, administrators, and students in the National Capital Region (NCR). Anchored in the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), Institutional Theory, and the Resource-Based View (RBV), the study tests five formal hypotheses using a multi-layered analytical framework comprising Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), One-Way ANOVA, Chi-Square tests, a SWOT-Quantitative Matrix, Multiple Regression Analysis, and Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). Key findings reveal an Implementation Lag in which digital infrastructure adoption has outpaced cultural and pedagogical transformation; a statistically significant resource disparity between public and private institutions; and, most critically, Human-Centric Design as the dominant mediating mechanism, accounting for 71% of technology’s total effect on learning effectiveness. A theoretically grounded strategic framework with policy recommendations for institutional leaders and regulators is advanced.