Bringing ERP to Schools

To integrate different sections of their diversified operations into a single, cohesive and easy-to-use system many schools are now turning to ERP

With the objective of streamlining the management processes and reducing operational costs many educational institutions are now deploying ERP. It is well known that ERP systems make it easier to track the workflow across various departments, so that there is better visibility into the important processes, across various departments of the organisation. However, the cost of ERP software, planning, customisation, configuration, testing, implementation is quite high, and if the institution does not plan well it may fail to achieve the expected outcomes.

Recently IIT Roorkee (IITR) conducted a meeting for implementing SAP ERP project, which will cover the end-to-end lifecycle management of all the processes and functions in the institution’s three campuses located at Roorkee, Saharanpur and Greater Noida. The ERP project, aptly named “Advaita”, which means “the one for all”, is going to be implemented in multiple phases. Along with taking care of all the management related tasks, the Advaita will help the institution in keeping track of the student from the point where he gets enrolled.

Trend for Digitisation

“Technology has pervaded into every aspect of school management—from delivering high quality audiovisuals in digital classrooms to tracking the location of the school buses through GPS devices. The requirement of every institute varies in accordance to the size and scale of their operations. However, schools are increasingly realising the importance of adopting technology to increase efficiency and decrease overhead costs,” says Darpan Vasudev, Vice President, Next Education India.

Founded in 2007, Next Education provides cloud-based ERP solution to close to 6500 schools in India. Bharatiya Vidya Bhawan and Delhi Public School are using ERP solutions developed by Next Education.
With ERP the functions across the enterprise get integrated into a single system that supports the institution’s financial, human resources, and student service transactions and processes. The ERP solutions offer the advantage of being integrated with each other and being capable of tracking many things at the same time. For instance, when data is changed in one area, information automatically changes in all the related areas and functions. When ERP is being implemented, it can also lead to the redesigning of the standard systems according to the global best practices.

“Globally there is a mega trend for ‘Digitise or Die’. There is no way for organisations to survive 2020 without digitisation. This is creating a huge requirement in the market for quality ERP products for all kinds of organisations,” says Unni Koroth, co-founder and CEO, Foradian. The Bangalore-based ERP solutions start-up Foradian Technologies, provides a cloud-based education solution Fedena, which acts as an information system of educational institutes by collecting and organising data of the day-to-day operations of the institutions and generating insightful reports for helping in decision making and collaboration.

Fedena has various modules for managing timetable, attendance, examinations, grade-books, campus news, hostel, library, transportation, school calendar, events and much else. It also has a Human Resource module for managing payroll and employee pay slips.

Start-ups Riding on the Wave

The major ERP providers in the education sector are the global IT giants like Oracle, SAP, Wipro, etc. However, the rising demand for ERP solutions for the management of unique requirements is leading to the rise of large number of start-ups. Institutions like Army Public School, Federal Public School, Bluebells Model School, Universal Education Group are using Applane ERP software.

“The ERP market is a highly unorganised with lot of players in all price ranges and product variations,” Unni Koroth from Foradian Technologies.

Applane provides cloud ERP through which the educational institutions can automate their back-office systems, academics, classrooms, transport, library, hostel, HR, sales, deliveries, accounts and finances from a single window with reports and analytics. “The educational institutions are now showing more interest in digitalisation. Government’s initiatives like Digital India and Make in India are encouraging the organisations to look at IT solutions for cutting cost and increasing efficiency. In case of cloud related solutions there are some security related concerns, but overall we have a huge opportunity for growth,” says Yogesh Agarwal, CEO, Applane Solutions.

SchoolPad, a start-up, is providing solutions to schools like Chitkara International in Punjab.

Essentially SchoolPad is a cloud based software, which aims to simplify the school operations. It improves communications between the parents and teachers and leads to better avenues for collaboration in the educational effort. Abhiraj Malhotra, CEO, SchoolPad, informs that many of the K-12 institutions are aware of the ERP software with which they can bring more efficiency to the management of their institution.

“The bad news is that the evaluation of these technology tools or so-called ERPs is something that a lot of these institutes are yet to conduct. As there is very little actual research done, there is scope for failed implementations,” he adds.

Challenges & Opportunities

The challenges that the institutions face in implementing ERP are often related to technical and the budget related issues. At times the staff in the institution is not fully trained in the use of ERP systems. Also, the decision makers at the institutions want to have a clear view of how the ERP can help in reducing the cost of managing the institution. But the process of installing ERP is never quick and easy, and the experience of installation is likely to differ from institution to institution.

According to Abhiraj Malhotra of SchoolPad, many institutions face problems in implementing ERP, because they did not conduct a thorough research before deciding to buy ERP. “Clarity on the important requirements and on how those requirements fit or are taken care of by the system are the important things that the institute must understand upfront before investing into such a system. Another big challenge that I have come across while talking to schools and colleges is related to the post implementation training and support because of which the teachers struggle to use these tools leading to a much reduced usage ratio,” he adds.

Vasudev of Next Education points out that when it comes to technology implementation, no two verticals are alike. Each sector has its own challenges. “Implementing an ERP solution in schools is very different from implementing it in other sectors. The problem with schools is that here the staff is totally used to the traditional way of doing things and it is very hard for them to move into a different system, which is based on Information Technology. Also some schools have the aspiration, but they lack the infrastructure for effective ERP implementation,” he says.

Agarwal of Applane has similar views. He says that as the school administration staff is engaged with traditional ways of managing the institution, they continue to prefer the manual systems even when the ERP has been implemented.

Malhotra of SchoolPad says that it is important that the schools have a trail before going for the final implementation of ERP. “One thing that I want every education institute to do before implementing an ERP or even a technology tool is to have a couple of real use cases. Let’s say you want to use technology for the management of the process of collecting fees of your students—the system should be such that it can generate a list of defaulters and send them a quick SMS reminder. You must first of all have a trial run.”

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