Whither the role of academicians in starting a school?

Vinod Kakumanu
Sept. 21, 2018, 9:36 a.m.

India is witnessing an increasing trend in the number of new schools. Starting a new school in India and providing quality education involves meticulous planning and unconditional commitment of the promoter.

An inordinate number of school owners approached me to seek assistance in increasing the number of school admissions. Incidentally, most of them had entrusted the responsibility of setting up and managing the school to veteran academicians and expected the academicians to deliver the revenue goals to sustain the school.

Even before the school completed its first academic year, there were occasions where the services of these incumbent academicians were terminated on the grounds of insufficient admissions and its financial implications on the school project.

Wither_the_role_of_academicians_in_starting_a_school?

I can never approve of such executive decisions, given the root causes I deciphered during my school consultation visits – Promoters themselves sowed the seed for a much deep-rooted issue by barely taking care of the real estate, building and employing founding academicians with an expectation to deliver financial results.

Founding academicians are indispensable for any school, such arbitrary acts seriously compromise the educational objectives of the school, leads to attrition adding fuel to the fire.

Failure cannot be solely attributed to founding academicians, as promoters compromised with the fundamental principles of planning a new school. The role of an academician in the 21^st Century school is immense, timely planning ensures significant savings in the school set up and management costs.

The new school caters to the educational needs of the target community, sustaining its position is always a number one priority. A school concept that succeeds in a given circumstance might not work at all in other circumstances. Many promoters ignore the need for planning and learn the hard way.

I strongly advise school promoters to deploy the professional expertise even before they invest the first penny into the new school venture—A school consultancy who can advise you on all aspects of the new school project including devising a suitable concept for the target market in line with your goals, connect missing links between academics and infrastructure to facilitate meaningful 21^st century learning, position the school effectively to the target audience; predict inception & growth basis empirical data, bring to reality your dream school and ensure perpetual support for the school.