Schools are as essential to a nation as the health care industry or as necessary as providing food and water to the citizens. Regardless of the political party in power and the effects of inflation, schools are and always will be a priority domain for the country.
Market Trends
Post covid and also as a natural process of evolution, the key market trends in the school industry are enumerated below:
Focus on Tier 2 Cities
Earlier, quality education was available only in the metros and tier 1 cities. With great success, it has now started coming to Tier 2 and even Tier cities. Due to this development, a void in our education system has begun filling up.
Some influential players have already stepped into this earlier neglected sector and have even become unicorn companies due to their success in tier 2 and tier 3 cities. Hence, it is good from the business point of view and is also good for the country since quality education is now reaching tier 3 cities.
School Management Outsourced
Outsourcing of the management of schools is now getting more and more popular. School management experts run the school on behalf of the owners, who, in most cases, are unaware of the best practices for running a school. Profit sharing is done with the owners on prior agreed terms.
I expect the Outsourced Management Model of running Schools to gain more popularity in the coming months.
Hybrid Schools
Online and offline teaching is now here to stay. This would imply more training of teachers in the delivery of online classes, greater requirements of IT network infrastructure by schools, larger requirements of bandwidth, and so on.
This is good news for the IT industry, which should rise to the occasion and support the school industry in providing IT infrastructure and manpower to schools.
Residential Schools
Residential Schools have a bright future. Given the high pollution levels in the metro and the other big cities, plus the decreasing time available to parents as in many cases both parents are working, parents are now likely to increasingly opt for residential schools in cities like Dehradun, Mussoorie, Kasauli, etc.
Entrepreneurship
This subject is becoming increasingly popular and is likely to grow in the coming years. Schools that claim to be ‘Entrepreneurship Schools’ have already begun operations in some cities.
School Fees
Schools will likely face more difficulty increasing fees due to government controls and populist measures. If this happens, the first casualty would be the salary of teachers.
Addition of more Technology
In an attempt to show that they are not left behind in the Ed-tech blitzkrieg, schools are now likely to opt for more technology, like Virtual Reality, to augment the teaching-learning process in their school.
Summary
Like any other industry, the school industry is continually evolving. It is a good time to invest in the Outsourced Management Model of Schools. It is also a good time to step into tier 3 cities to fill the void there.
This article was contributed by our expert Colonel Atul Bhandari
Frequently Asked Questions Answered by Colonel Atul Bhandari
Q1. What are the advantages and disadvantages of the outsourced management model of schools?
Advantages
Management of the school by experts in the domain, leading to better results in all departments of the school.
Better parent satisfaction, as they would know that the school is in the hands of people who are aware of the best practices in the school industry.
Disadvantage
If owners resort to micro-management or interference in the day-to-day functioning of the school, it would be a disadvantage for the smooth functioning of the school.
Q2. Could hybrid education be the future educator in the field of higher education?
Yes, schools will have to transform into hybrid schools.
Having schools in online and offline mode has already started in some schools. Moreover, in case we have a four day school and one day at home, it would save on school electricity cost and school bus diesel cost.
Q3. How can we improve technology in schools?
We can enhance technology in schools by the following measures :
- Better IT infrastructure
- STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) Program
- AI (Artificial Intelligence) Lab
- AR (Augmented Reality) Lab
- VR (Virtual Reality) Lab
- Design Thinking Lab
- Coding Lab
- High bandwidth for a seamless network
- Telescope viewing place
- One laptop per child, from Grade 3 onwards
- Having high calibre IT faculty
- ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) System
- LMS (Learning Management System)
- MIS (Management Information System)
- Managebac - a School Learning Platform
Q4. What are the characteristics of an Entrepreneurial School?
- Fills the gap between the learning being imparted in schools and the needs of the industry
- Consists centres for creativity, innovation, research and Artificial Intelligence
- It must teach the students the industry jargon
- It must inculcate a spirit of Entrepreneurship in the students
- It must be a digitally networked Smart School
- It must have MOU's and tie-up's with the Industry and business organizations
- Provides mentor support
- Well equipped labs for a research oriented environment
- It must have Tinkering Labs
- The students must participate in webinars by academic and industry experts
