Introduction
School management is evolving with the times and anything that brings about an evolution of the same for the better is often warmly welcomed. The only hurdle that has slowed down the progress of this evolution was the technological expectation vs reality gap - something that has dramatically reduced ever since 2020. Now would be the best time to invest in something that is essential to the coming revolution - the rise of the Integrated School Platform. An integrated school platform is a collection of software features that work together to make teaching, learning, and school management easy, efficient and affordable. The foundational pillars of an integrated school platform are the school LMS and the school ERP. While a school LMS is used in the classroom to enrich and enhance the learning experience of students and the teaching experience, the management benefits almost exclusively from the school ERP. However, this brings up the question of what is at the heart of any ERP system that makes it conducive for easy and efficient management?
What is ERP?
ERP stands for enterprise resource planning system. When it comes to business, the ERP system is used to enhance resource planning, allocation, and implementation of several managerial activities using technology. The basic idea behind using ERP software is to make the process of management easy to understand and implement. As mentioned, the main reason why ERP systems did not penetrate the education sector was mainly because of the technology gap that existed before. This gap has finally started to get filled by the massive technological advancements taking place in the 21st century, which was mainly because of the affordability of the internet and the increase in the availability of fast internet connectivity. Today, school ERP is widely prevalent and is being used abundantly in educational institutions.
Components of ERP System
An enterprise resource planning system is a set of tools and technologies that make the management of an institution efficient, viable, and practical. In the context of an educational institution, there are a number of ERP features that can help in the enhancement of its effective management. Given below are some of the most commonly used ERP software solutions in educational institutions today:
- Fee Management Software - The governing of school fees is very important for the financial stability and future progress of a school. A fee management system helps take care of school fee collection, categorization, and monitoring, and can help an educational institution in a lot of ways.
- Admission Management - Admission time is the most hectic period of the year for a school with a lot of students and parents constantly making inquiries regarding whether or not they are selected. Therefore, any product that makes admission management simpler is a boon for the management. Teachmint offers one of the most sophisticated admission management software solutions in the market today - check out our features to know more.
- Attendance Management System - An attendance management system is a feature that almost all large schools need today. It is used in almost all institutions to make attendance management and related grievance redressals simpler for teachers since they are the ones who are usually bestowed with the task of roll call and maintaining records of the same.
- Leave Management - The allotment and management of leaves becomes several times easier with the introduction of leave management software. The teachers and nonteaching staff alike can apply for leaves and the management can be notified of the same so that they can plan their activities accordingly.
- Transport Management - Getting students from home to school and back is quite an important task, especially when it comes under the jurisdiction of the school administration. This is essential to the safety and security of the students 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:
- Exam Planner
- Hostel Management
- Library Management
- School Yearly Calendar Planner
- User Rights Management
- Website Builder
Check out Teachmint’s features to know more about our offerings.
What is at the Heart of Any ERP System?
It is easy to see why ERP systems are preferred by educational institutions all over the world, but the benefits of the same are not discussed exclusively outside of its offerings. Here’s what is at the heart of any ERP system today:
Efficiency
This is the first and foremost advantage of ERP systems on the market today. The efficiency of the process of administration, whether it is school management or classroom management (and the kind of things that result from or go into them), is taken care of by the software. This brings us to the next point, which is automation.
Automation
One of the main reasons why ERP systems are catching on is because of the ease in the administration process brought about by automation - it is fundamentally what is at the heart of any ERP System you will see out there today. With almost all sectors of society slowly turning towards automation because of the advantages of automation, like making life more comfortable, it is no surprise that people are looking to see a similar level of sophistication in the education system as well.
Flexibility
The main reason why ERP systems are becoming so popular is because of the flexibility that it offers all the stakeholders. Since the use of ERP systems makes the process of school management automated, it gives the administration the opportunity to do what they want with regard to decision-making. This is most advantageous when it comes to schools that follow hybrid teaching methods but works for other forms of teaching as well.
Transparency and Security
With the introduction of ERP systems into education, data management becomes easier and more efficient, which also means that all the information regarding the school, including information related to the students, their parents, teachers and other stakeholders are safe with the ERP. This makes sure that there will be no room for issues such as phishing, scams, etc.
Cost Effectiveness
The cost of a product is the total cumulative cost of the number of resources that went into its creation or in the case of school management, the amount of work done. Traditionally the amount of work done by the administrative staff was quite high considering that they had to do all of the work on their own. However, with the automation offered by the ERP, the amount of work that needs to be done becomes extremely low because most of it is taken care of by the software itself.
Scalability
One of the most important features of an ERP system is that it can be used by any institution of any size and it will work perfectly with each and every school. This is true even if it is a public school with limited resources or if it is a private institution that is self-funded.
Conclusion
ERP systems are instrumental in the ongoing revolution in educational innovation and is increasing in demand by the day as more and more schools are realizing the benefits of ERP. More developing countries are looking towards ERP implementation in their institutions. Teachmint offers the widest range of ERP solutions for schools in the market today, everything from building the website to implementing Library Management software.
Suggested Read - Benefits of ERP in Developing Countries
