How to open a school? Tips for opening a school
Do you know, India has got thrice the number of schools in comparison to China as per the Times of India. But sadly, many of these schools lack in providing a good education.
The future of a country depends upon the education and nurturing of the kids of that country. In this, schools play a major role. Schools form the base on which the students decide what they should do in the future. Hence, if you are planning to open up a school, it is a huge responsibility on your shoulders. You should know the right ways so that you can offer the right education to the students who will turn up to brighten the future of the country ahead.
How to Open a School?
Here are some of the basic steps of how to open a school.
The Management:
You cannot run the school alone, right? You will need a team that will help you with this. There are so many eminent tasks to be done such as hiring faculties, arranging the facilities, and many more. For this, there has to be an entire force that is the management. Once the interested people come together to form the management, it is the time for the registration. You need to register the management under the Societies Recognition Act, 1860. This Act is necessary as it will show that your motto behind starting the school is not gaining a profit but to provide education to the children. Spreading education is a social task and so, this step is the most crucial one.
Essentiality Certificate:
You cannot open a school anywhere and anytime as per your convenience. It takes a lot of analysis work. You need to apply for the Essentiality Certification at the Department of Education of your state. The professionals will then make an analysis of whether you can open a school in a particular location that you have suggested or not. There are different factors on basis of which the decision is made such as whether the school in the location will be actually beneficial or not, or will the nearby elements be harmful to the students studying in the school or not. Based on all these factors, the Department of Education will sanction you with the Essentiality Certificate. This certificate has an expiry of 3 years within which you need to start your school. If you fail to do so, you need to apply for the certificate once again and have to go through the procedure again.
Purchasing Land:
The next step is to purchase a land on which you will start constructing your school. The Essentiality Certificate is important because it also helps you in getting land at a subsidised rate. After you have received the Essentiality Certificate, the Department of Education will forward a letter of sponsorship to the required agencies. Based on this letter, you will be able to get the land at a subsidised rate. You need to remember that the sponsorship will depend highly on your standard of school that you are planning to start up with.
Recognition and Affiliation:
Once the above-mentioned steps are completed, it is time to start the school construction and fetch recognition of the school from the Municipality Corporation of the area. Also, it is crucial to get your school affiliated with a Board.
Today, most of the parents select schools depending upon the affiliation that the school has. For this, you need to follow these steps.
- Decide upon the affiliation that you wish to get for your school.
- After you have decided upon the affiliation, you have to visit the nearest Regional office for the Board such as ICSE, CBSE, or others.
- Apply for the affiliation and follow the steps that the officials have suggested to you.
There are various landmarks based on which the affiliation of your school will be granted by the Board. For example; if you are starting up with a CBSE board school, you have to make sure of various guidelines such as whether you can provide the CBSE standard education or not, and others. If the Board officials are satisfied with the standards that you are maintaining, then only the school gets affiliated with the applied Board.
Tips for Opening a School
Just knowing the procedure for opening a school is not enough. You also need to know some of the tips that can help you in getting your school converted into a good one.
Do Some Research:
You need to know what a great school actually means. In fact, you should visit the schools that are quite famous in the city. You should do so to know the special features that have made these schools so much in demand. Also, get on your heels to do some campaigning by talking to the parents about what they are looking for in a great school. Doing such research work can surely help you in knowing what are the things that you need to incorporate in your school.
The Culture:
If you are starting a school affiliated with, say the ICSE board, there are many other schools in the city with the same affiliation. So, what will make you different and better than them? It is the culture of your school. You should incorporate some of the important ideologies such as a combination of education and co-curricular activities, the right model of teaching the students, and so on. Often it is the culture of the school that helps the students in learning better and fetching great marks in the examinations.
The Fee Structure:
The fee structure should be something that the parents in the nearby location can afford comfortably. If you have started a school with a high-standard goal and have kept a high fee structure that does not match the income of the family of the location, the school may not actually run properly. Hence, you should do your research well in the segment of fees also so that you can attract more people towards your school.
Promises that you can Fulfil:
A school may make thousands of promises. But when it is not able to accomplish those promises, then mostly the name of the school ruins down. Hence, you should make sure to plan your promises or marketing strategies well so that you can provide the elements or facilities that you are quoting in your campaigns.
Starting a new school is not an easy task. It requires a lot of paperwork and also a lot of research work. If you have done your homework properly, you can surely come up with a school that will flourish on the standards that you have set. You should never forget that the idea of having a school is not just a dream that you need to fulfil. You should have a motto of providing the right education and development to the students who will get admission in your school. Surely, the demand for schools is on the hike but parents still search for the best schools first for their children.
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