The day that many of us have been anticipating anxiousness is almost here. Schools across the nation are opening phase by phase, heralding that it is about time children head back to school after 18+ months.

This article aims to delve into the options parents have about their children heading back to school physically, and what they feel about the reopening of schools.

Physical Health vs. Mental Health

Many parents were anxious or worried that their children would contract the virus as they are unvaccinated. Some felt that it might be better for the kids to head to school after a vaccine was provided for them.

The one thing they all agreed on was that Online Learning did have some repercussions on the Mental Health of the Students.

The Detrimental Effects of Online Learning:

In a survey conducted among 8 parents, many felt that Online Learning, despite being the best alternative in current times, did have drawbacks. Some of them are:

1.       Learning Loss was particularly prominent in children. Many students forgot the concepts learnt in previous grades as they did not apply them in day to day living and conversations. This also caused a delay in the social and emotional development of children.

2.       Several children, particularly those in households where they were the only child, began behaving like adults. Being around adults 24×7 made the children emulate and copy the behaviour of adults.

3.       Parents strongly felt that teachers loaded 8 hours of learning in 3 hours of lessons. Particularly in the case of primary school children, parents felt overburdened with the homework.

4.       Concerns on children not taking online lessons seriously and the absence of physical activity in co-curricular lessons such as sports making them more sedentary was also noted by the parents.

The Positives of Online School:

While parents were critical of online learning, they felt that it had some positives too.

1.       Most parents unanimously agreed that they felt safe and secure at home during the pandemic and online schools helped the children gain whatever knowledge they could in such trying times.

2.       Parents were thrilled at notes in pdf form and other electronic sources being shared with the students. Sometimes, owing to different reasons, children aren’t able to quickly take notes in classes. In such a scenario, having pdf notes handy ensures that their learning wasn’t hampered.

3.       Schools that only had in-person fee payment had to switch and provide multi-channel, multi-platform payment support. Parents believed that this should be continued during the pandemic.

The Best of Both Worlds:

While the online school vs physical lessons debate is never-ending, schools and teachers can utilise some of their learnings and use them for the betterment of their students.

Teachers may need to adopt a new approach or take additional lessons to combat learning loss. Additionally, by providing pdf notes teachers may be able to bring about a better level-playing field for children.

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The fee collection process for an educational institution is extensive. The long checklist involved, constant vigilance on the status, student records, and intrinsic maintenance of fee details makes the process cumbersome — so much that you would want a few days when the collection is complete. 

Is there a better way to handle the fee collection, if not spreadsheets? Yes, but before that, we will touch base on why spreadsheets are not the ideal companion for your institution’s fee collection process.

Why spreadsheets and fee collection doesn’t go hand in hand –

The shortcomings of spreadsheets when it comes to fee collection are similar to that of a physical registry. It is important to understand the inadequacy, micromanagement, and ineffective processes surrounding Excel sheets to help you negate the problem with a comprehensive solution.

1.  Lack of features

Your fee management involves a vast range of data — from class-wise sorting of students, student details, fee installment choice, transaction history, to payment mode. The length of the list directly corresponds to the extent of accuracy you wish to hold in the process. The lack of easy search and features to enable easier location of data makes spreadsheet a not-so-ideal solution for fee management.

2.  Lack of flexibility

Micromanagement is another segment of spreadsheets that needs attention. Every piece of data has to be updated manually, missing which the data you hold can be as far from accurate as possible. This can have a ripple effect — if you miss recording the fee payment of one of the students, not only will your balance sheet not match, you will end up jeopardizing your reputation with the students/parents.

3.  Not compatible to meet the growing market demands

In the largely digital-first world, the parents/students are looking for dynamic solutions that simplify their process. Gone are the days when they had ample time to stand in long queues, pay the fees, and collect paper receipts every term to pay their fees.

They expect you to hold an online medium to complete the transactions. Even if you set an online account, you have to measure each transaction detail against the 

received transactions and update each payment to your spreadsheet.

What will fill the gap in your fee collection process?

Your requirements tend to grow with the student/parents. A comprehensive online fee application with automated processes that hold the segment to integrate digital payments will help you focus on what you do best — illuminating bright minds and moulding the leaders of tomorrow.

Features that build a reliable fee management tool –

• All things automation

The technological advancements are at their crest, and it is open for exploration and integration into your business processes. The major shortcoming faced in a spreadsheet is the manual execution of menial tasks. It is also recommended to opt for a payment system that responds to every payment with automated reconciliation and instant receipts.

• Inclusive of every step in the fee collection

The application should act as a one-stop fee management solution, inclusive of all the processes involved before and post completion of the fee collection. The application should hold an easy process for easy migration from your conventional fee collection method. It should also make it seamless for you to sort by academic sessions, assign fees for classes, and act as the central source for the student data.

• Digital payment integration

The major step of the online fee collection process is the window for easy transactions. As we said earlier, the digital solution must hold direct payment integrations — be it through direct payment links in messages or applications. The flexibility in the payment process will ensure faster collection of fees.

• Provision to expand and accommodate growth

Your institution is bound to grow, and with it, your fee management solution should too. The application should hold provisions to expand your database and help with easy migration to the upgraded plan. It should also stay in part with the growing trends of the digital payment landscape.

We have demystified the cloud around the necessity to migrate from the legacy practise of using spreadsheets for fee collection. While on the topic, we recommend you to check out Anthem, the digital fee management application designed around the unique requirements of educational institutions — be it a coaching centre or a renowned college/school.

Embrace the modern way of fee management with Anthem!

The post Are Spreadsheets not Ideal for fee collection in educational institutions? appeared first on Anthem.

Are you a parent with a toddler, tween, or teenager at home? Are you a student in high school?

If you answered yes, you must surely be aware of the National Education Policy. Here’s a roundup on what it is, and why it is important that you be aware of it.

The National Education Policy (NEP), drafted in 2020 was the first one of its kind in over three decades. It aims to make education more inclusive, equitable and offers a better level playing opportunity for students, particularly children of all age groups. Here are four salient points of the NEP and its implications for school children.

The 3 Language Formula

The NEP proposes a 3 Language formula, where children will learn two languages (including the medium of instruction) through most of their schooling (at least until grade 8). They will learn the basics of one language from grades 5 to 8. This will help in improving the Linguistic capabilities of the student. Foreign languages will be offered from grades 9 to 12 to enable them to pursue their undergraduate education abroad.

New Framework to Schooling

In India, we currently have a 10+2 framework, which will be replaced by a 5+3+3+4 framework, wherein kindergarten will come under the ambit of schooling. Generally, kindergarten or nursery school was unregulated, and this will no longer be the case. Children across the board will have a uniform educational structure and will begin to access standardized education at an early date.

Pedagogical Reforms

The curriculum will become less text-intensive and will focus more on learning by experiencing. Critical thinking, multiple intelligences, and analytics will be developed in a holistic manner. Children will be provided the opportunity to partake in internships beginning from grade 6.

Multiple Endpoints Based Education

A student in the past, who enrolled for a 4- year degree course will leave empty-handed should he or she choose to drop out of the program before the end. This will not be the case anymore and students will be offered multiple endpoints. For example, a student who completes 2 years of a 4-year degree may be awarded a Diploma instead of a degree. Credit transfer options will be made and better flexibility will be ensured for the student.

Interdisciplinary education such as dual degree programs and integrated programs are set to become more popular. Additionally, the vocational component of learning will have more weightage in the years to come.

The Rundown:

The National Education Policy has several people-oriented benefits and initiatives. It will offer students immense benefit if implemented the correct way. Flexible, multidisciplinary, inclusive education is the need of the hour and NEP plays a sure but very crucial role in ensuring that.

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