Introduction
Developing countries are all the buzz right now. India overtook Britain with respect to GDP in 2022, hence becoming the second developing country after China to join the top 5 largest economies in the world. This is significant because it is in developing countries that a lot of today’s innovation and industrialization take place. Every sector actively involved in developing countries is rapidly evolving because of its need to satisfy all the sections of society that live there. As a result, there is cut-throat competition within each sector with each organization trying to emerge on top. One of those sectors is education. School management has been evolving rapidly over a long period of time, and it has culminated in having digitally transitioned to meet the technological needs of the times. This is where the benefits of ERP for schools come in. However, before we go into what the benefits of ERP are in developing countries, let us understand what ERP is, and what its constituent elements are.
What is ERP?
ERP stands for Enterprise Resource Planning. It is largely used in the business world and refers to the collaborative use of technology in the management sphere to ease and enhance resource planning, allocation, diversification, and implementation. Essentially, the premise behind the use of ERP software is to simplify the process of management. With the turn of the millennium, ERP started being implemented in schools because of the rapid growth of technology and widespread adoption of the Internet. This has accelerated exponentially over its second decade since the cost of internet service has decreased more than ever before in history while the availability and accessibility have increased manifold. So, this is the perfect time for implementing ERP in schools and in educational institutions.
Components of ERP System
An enterprise resource planning system is a collection of tools and assistive technologies that make the management of an institution simpler and more efficient. In the context of an educational institution, there are a number of ERP tools that can aid and enhance the management of the same. Given below are some of the most commonly used ERP tools in educational institutions:
- Fee Management Software - School fees is an integral part of a school and it determines the economic viability and progress of the same. Having a fee management system in place to deal with school fees collection, categorization, and so on can help an educational institution in a lot of ways.
- Attendance Management System - An attendance management system is another one of the many benefits of ERP. It is used in almost all institutions to make the process simpler for teachers since they are the ones who are traditionally assigned the hectic task of roll call and attendance management.
- Admission Management - Admission time is arguably the busiest and most hectic time of the year for a school, and so, anything that makes admission management simpler is a boon for the management. Teachmint offers one of the best admission management software solutions in the market today - check out our features to know more.
- Leave Management - Another thing that is common to both schools and any other organization is the allotment and management of leaves when it comes to their employees. When it comes to schools, these are the teachers and non teaching staff. This becomes easier for both teachers and the administration.
- Transport Management - Shuttling students and teachers from home to school and back is a task that is essential to the safety and security of all the stakeholders involved. Therefore, being able to monitor and manage every step of that process is imperative.
There are several other school ERP features that Teachmint offers, a few of which are listed below:
- Hostel Management
- Library Management
- Website Builder
- School Yearly Calendar Planner
- Exam Planner
- User Rights Management
Check out Teachmint’s features to know more about our offerings.
Developed and Developing Countries
Before getting into what the benefits of ERP systems are for educational institutions, it is important to understand what is the difference between developed and developing countries. As per the United Nations Statistics Division, there is no convention that exclusively bifurcates developed and developing countries or areas within the United Nations system. The designations developed and developing countries are used for statistical convenience. They do not offer an objective judgement regarding the stage that is reached by a particular country or area in its development process.
However, the divisions are loosely used in the context of industrialization - developed countries are those that have undergone the conventional route of large scale industrialization while developing countries are those that have either not taken it up or are currently in the process of doing so. Examples of developed countries include Japan, the United States of America, the UK, Belgium, France, and so on. Examples of developing countries include India, China, the Philippines, Indonesia, South Africa, and so on. The terms first world and third world are not used as they are commonly considered pejorative terms in the modern context.
Advantages of ERP for Developing Countries
Now, we come to the benefits of ERP for developing countries. This is a topic of interest because most of the countries in the world today come under the broad umbrella of developing countries. Here are a few advantages of ERP in schools in such countries.
Big Data Management
In countries such as India, China, Brazil, etc. there are literally hundreds of millions of students in educational institutions at different levels. Therefore, the collective amount of data that can come from even an individual school is quite a lot. Processing that much amount of data will be a massive undertaking that will not only be extremely labor-intensive but also incredibly riddled with errors. This problem can be solved by using an ERP software solution. ERP helps automate all the processes of a school from certificate generation to fee management, hence reducing a great amount of load off the shoulders of the administration.
Reduces Costs and Errors
One of the greatest advantages of automation as discussed above is the drastic reduction in the number of errors that can occur since the human aspect of administration is completely removed. This means that there won’t be a need for a large number of staff members, which further reduces the costs of operation. This is especially important in developing countries where the cost of education is a major driving factor that decides whether a student will pursue education or not.
Minimizes Paperwork
The process of automation introduced by a school ERP software solution effectively enables the reduction of paperwork by a large margin. There is no need to “push paper” as there is no paper being pushed - all the managerial tasks are taken care of by the software itself. The staff will only be in charge of overseeing the entries and deriving conclusions from the data.
Promotes the Digitization of Other Sectors
As digitization becomes widespread in the education sector, the level of computer literacy in students will increase. This will eventually lead to a generation of students in developing countries coming out as digitally literate individuals which will not only help them but advance the average digital literacy of the entire country.
Conclusion
A school ERP, therefore, has a great impact on the way we perceive education and the education system as a whole, hence prompting them to be lifelong learners. Teachmint offers one of the best ERP solutions in the market as a part of its integrated school platform, which is complete with a school LMS, digital content, and more.
Suggested Read - Top 11 Benefits of ERP Software in Schools
