School Management Software

School ERP verses stand alone applications
Stand Alone Verses ERP solution for schools.
(This report is based on the survey with Schools EDP officers handling school ERP and Other software in school )
Defination of School ERP : A single software managing all aspects of schooling without redundancy and proper inter module data exchange. The data is managed centrally.
The moment we think about school automation we think of multiple software, one for fee, another software for library and so on. Carefully looking at the school we will easily conclude that a educational institute is a complete city within itself. We have functionality starting from HR to finance and a lot of other issues. From school inventory, tuck shop, examinations we have to manage a lot. So trying to implement automation individually leads us to dealing with multiple software and multiple vendors and a situation where we have basically manualised our school system with computers.

Stand alone software for school can not only be very difficult to manage but also can add a lot of redundancy in data entry and ambiguity of information within same organization. E.g. when a student takes admission we have to enter the name in various software that we are using like library, fee, examination section software and so on. So basically there is a lot of redundant work in this case. On the other hand there may be a case when a student already taken TC from the school is still reflecting in the Library software or the other software implemented for various other modules. In absence of a centralized software the procedure of getting clearance from various sections for the students still remains tedious and time consuming.

A properly planned single point integrated system (School ERP / Education ERP) can facilitate zero redundancy, inter module information exchange and thereby a lot of savings in the form of time and manual efforts. Following comparison report is on software implementation at various.


Web Based School Management System / Software

With the expansion of the web technology many schools have come forward to make use of the mighty web to expand the education approach and widen the effectiveness of education system. During this many of us have encountered various challenges. In this article we are giving tips on on line schooling.


Schooling round the clock around the globe ... exciting but what to do for it. The first question is can it work online. It is important to understand our infrastructure and the users before we finalise anything on this account. For some countries the idea of online schooling may work with fully online system but with most countries where Internet facility is still at a growing phase the idea may end up is a dream far off. For this the concept of an intranet based system that works offline and can synchronise with online interface is something that works. Visit http://www.literom.net to refer such system.

With the inception of the online + offline system we have all the economy and speed of an offline system and appraoch of an online system.

1. The system is available offline so works with the speed of you LAN. So quite practical in a school where the number of transactions are very high.
2. Offline availability of system eliminates the requirement of a 24hrs dedicated internet connection.
3. The online system is an interface to the outside world. So without redundancy we have everything shared in web. Secure and personalised.
4. Web based school management systems gives parents access to the required information without much involvement of money and time.
5. With a web based school management software we can organise an effective parent interaction system for better relationship and knowledge sharing with them.


In last few years there are a lot of School Management Softwares that have come into picture and so it becomes important to understand how to identify the one which best suits your requirement. Written below are a few points that we need to take care before we plan and finalize a School Management Solution. Caring for these points can prevent a dream for automation of your schools from becoming a night mare for you.
1. Single Point Integration: It is advisable to go for a single software that handles the various schooling aspects for following reasons.
a. Can save the implementation time.
b. Single vendor interaction
c. Inter module communication
d. Low total cost of ownership
e. Low or zero data redundancy
f. Data security
2. You can keep the following factors in consideration while analyzing the Operating System of the application.
a. Cost of operating system used by the software specially in case of network operating system the cost may vary as the number of nodes in the school increase. In this case the open source technology like LINUX can be a good option.
b. Vulnerability of viruses
c. Security
d. Ease of maintain.
3. Back End Data Base Management System
The cost of DBMS / RDBMS of the solution can also effect the total cost of ownership of the software. Network Based Data Base systems have both per user and one time payment options.
4. Redundancy of Data:
A well-planned ERP system offers ZERO Redundancy of data for managing the various schooling aspects, for e.g., if a school is using library, fees, transport, health modules of the same ERP, then if the students have been entered in the Student record Cell then there should be no requirement of entry of student again n again in other modules The application must offers zero redundancy of data.
5. Hardware Requirements at Server and at Nodes:
The implementation of an ERP system should be with minimum or no hardware upgrade in the existing setup of the school. Investing on server hardware is a good idea but upgrading the individual nodes can sometimes be very costly.
6. User Friendliness:
Just the deployment and implementation of an ERP with hi-end features does not make it popular and successful, but what makes it successful is the user acceptance, its ease in working and simple yet powerful interfaces. Consider the interfacing of the software as one of the prime factors before opting for it.
7. Update policy and procedure:
System Deployment, implementation and training, that's not all. Since development is a continuous process and there are always some or the other updates which are required so a proper update policy and the process of updating the system is mandatory. Look into the following points

a. How is the process of updation ?
b. What is the typical size of the update ?
c. Does every update requires to be updated at every node, because this is too big to be handled ?
d. What is the possibility of remote administration ?
8. Data Security:
Data Security is yet another important aspect which cannot be neglected. Whenever an ERP solution is implemented, steps which ensure data
a. The data should not be in the direct access of the users.
b. What is the security offered at the DATA base level
c. What is the security offered by the application itself.
d. Consider looking for user level security in comparison to group level security.
9. Scalability in terms of features and expansion in area:
Scalability in terms of adding systems is important as schools keep adding systems and new features to the system.
10. Online interfacing of application:
In the present scenario and with the rapid expansion and effectiveness of internet reach schools sooner or later opt for using internet based features and sharing information on net with parents and other users.
a. Make sure that the system offers no duplicate entry of data to be shared on net.
b. Make sure that the data on net is secure and personalized
c. How effectively the software can use your bandwidth.
d. It is good to have the online features working on your school's web site.
11. Dependency on connectivity:
a. Opting for a totally internet based solutions can sometimes be an over enthusiastic decision.
b. We can't afford to stop over crucial working if the connection is not working so make sure that the system is not fully dependent on connectivity.




School Management Software
Education system forms the backbone of every nation. The success of this system lies in correct knowledge dissemination process blended with smooth and efficient functioning of management system. Technology at schools can play a very crucial role in streamlining the whole system of education. Let us talk about a few issues related to this. Exploring the resons why IT is not just a subject to be tought but an effective tool to be used.

MAJOR LIMITATIONS AND CHALLENGES IN FRONT OF THE SCHOOLS to implement a School Management Software.

Mental blocks

Schools are doing well without IT
It adds a lot of cost on school.
Our teachers and other users are no techno savvy.
Not all our parents are IT enabled so what's the point.
Who will manage the data.


LET US SEE WHAT A SCHOOL MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE / SCHOOL ERP CAN DO FOR SCHOOLS

1. Complete organization of data within the school.

Manual work most of the time is Redundant, Incomplete, Improper, Not available when required. Dependency factor is always high in this case. Further handling old files is difficult and unhealthy. Hand written data is sometime not readable.

2. Streamlining the educational process :
The manual way of working gives us total freedom and flexibility …which results in a less protocol or standardized way of working. An IT solution helps in proper documentation and stardardisation of education process by setting up protocols for each and every process of schooling. We document and manage much more information than the manual process. Accessing the documented information is again a very easy process.

3. Effectively increasing the productivity and efficiency of the office management staff.

Schools experience that the productivity of the same office staff increases after implementation of IT solutions. They can work out things well in time and are free to take care of the other smaller issues in school management. The same office work can be handled by less staff thereby allowing the rest of the man power to be deputed in other productive works.

4. Reducing the paper work to a great extend thereby making you eco friendly and the process cost effective.

In a school since we manage information of thousands of users at a time against a number of transactions and activities, the paper usage in very high for collection, saving and distribution of such information. Moreover the multiple copies of the data multiplies the usage. An IT solution with a good mechanism for the information processing and sharing saves a significant amount of paper for the school which in tern in not just cost effective but is eco friendly as well.

5. Strengthening relationship with parents by maintaining a proper information system.

Communication and transparency always play a key role in forming a healthy relation ship with parents and also add to their satisfaction. Properly working information system helps us making better use of parent teacher meetings as the crucial time of personal interaction is not consumed in just accessing the basic information and setting up the agenda.

Some schools are also using their web sites and portals to keep their parents informed about the latest in the school and facilitating their knowledge sharing with smartly designed tools.

6. Saving a lot of Man hrs, which directly means saving a lot of money.

Automation of basic procedures in school save a lot of man hrs which directly reflects to expenditure of the school. FEE, Admission, Payroll, stock

7. Increasing the reach and effectiveness of teachers by making them work on their core issue of imparting education instead of working on data management and admin related issues in the school and while at home.

8. Automation of important units like fees, library and stock can effectively eliminate any ambiguity and loss of property and liquidity of the school.

9. Reducing a lot of communication cost on various communication based processes in the school.

If planned properly a single point school management solution. solution can eliminate redundant entry of data at various units in the institution.


THE VISION ...
Institutions large and small are groping for innovative and cost effective ways for exploring the technological approach to education, streamlining education process and strengthening bonds amongst students, teachers, parents, management and the alma mater - 'to strive, to search, to seek and never to yield' has been the strength of educators world wide.
LITEROM, simply is an effort of making internet work for educational institutes. It propels mutual co-operation between the constituents of the institution which ultimately leads to a huge private library, an ocean of knowledge and a single yet powerful platform of interaction.
LITEROM at the same time also addresses School Management, Interaction, Knowledge Management and communication issues both in the school and on net. The campus version of LITEROM is a browser based application and thus it is highly acceptable among the users and very easy to deploy and manage. It is the only application that gives two way synchronization of data with online and offline versions. This way whatever you do in school is available on your web site secure and personalized and the same is applicable vise-versa. This is an ERP solution for school that can be integrated with smart cards, bio-metrics and bar codes as per the schools requirement.




Develop and host your interactive website
Under the project DreamTeam prepares and hosts a complete interactive and dynamic website for the school / college / institution. The website is finely integrated with the offline solution results in a perfect interactive platform. The website also includes e-mail facility (name@schoolname.org) to all the direct members of the institution - student, teacher and management.
The websites powered by are backed with unmatched infrastructure and resources allocation on net. The school has an auto scalable web space whereas the students, teachers accounts have 5 - 10 MB of hosting space each.

Setup of Intranet web server / application server in the school
Magically enhancing the user friendliness of the solution is the completely browser based interface of the solution. We setup an INTRANET WEB SERVER in the school for the automation application of the school with all the required installation and configuration.

Training seminars for students, teachers and the management
- DreamTeam Organizes training and orientation seminar in the school for the users of the solution at various levels.
- To reduce the cost for training CD based multimedia training kits can also be used. DreamTeam has its own multimedia unit to develop the same with world-class standards.
- Printed user manuals can also be used for reference and training of the user. A sample of the same will be sent to you for consideration

Complete online technical support
We also provide technical support to the school for the direct and indirect issues of the school administration and management.

Updating and Upgrading
A perfect system evolves from constant working guides with on ground practical implementation experience. We understand that there can only be commas and no full stop in this direction. Keeping the same in mind the architecture of LITEROM has been developed in such a way that it supports plug and play upgrades and updates to the system silently without disturbing the earlier implementation.

In most cases a patch can be sent to the user on mail, which can be updated with the UPDATE management system, by the user. If feasible, a fully automated upgrade management system can also be developed in a short notice.

Networking in the school
If required, by the school DreamTeam also helps the school in setting up the LAN in the school to connect all the departments of the school together. The effectiveness of LITEROM@campus automatically reaches with the connectivity as there are no special installations required on each computer to operate on it.

Network Security Solutions ( KERIO Win route Firewall + Antivirus + Content Filter)

If the school is desirous in a security solution with the help of which they can :-
- Share and Log Internet access through out there LAN,
- Prevent intrusion of Hackers in school network,
- Keep a check on the web-content being browsed in the LAN,
- Prevent malicious Virus / Worms / Trojans coming from INTERNET, we can provide & install Network Security Solutions for the same.


Above 90% of the school management software's are offering similar solutions in different ways and combination, there are surely a few serious innovative efforts made by some companies to bring an entirely new phase of schooling and education imparting for us. With some of the solutions we are bound to think that a pinch of idea mixed with proper planning and sincere efforts in software can leave behind the limitations of resources and time management and can give us a better ROI (return of investment) both in hardware and software.
Literom, the school ERP is a combination of Internet & Intranet Version.
LITEROM Online : Works on Internet in the form of the interactive website of your school. All Constituents of the school viz., students, teachers, management, parents, alumni guest / experts are allotted unique username & passwords to work with.

LITEROM @ Campus : As soon as we plug in the CAMPUS SERVER in the Local Area Network of the school, it makes available an offline website throughout the campus, thereby eliminating the dependency of the solution on high speed internet connectivity and providing tremendous data transfer speed through out the campus. This browser based automation system integrates all the departments of the school working viz., academics, fees, transport, stock, health etc ...

NOTE : Both intranet & internet version work hand in hand with each other. This means that the required changes reflect at both the ends.
Above 90% of the school management software's are offering similar solutions in different ways and combination, there are surely a few serious innovative efforts made by some companies to bring an entirely new phase of schooling and education imparting for us. With some of the solutions we are bound to think that a pinch of idea mixed with proper planning and sincere efforts in software can leave behind the limitations of resources and time management and can give us a better ROI (return of investment) both in hardware and software.
Literom, the school ERP is a combination of Internet & Intranet Version.
LITEROM Online : Works on Internet in the form of the interactive website of your school. All Constituents of the school viz., students, teachers, management, parents, alumni guest / experts are allotted unique username & passwords to work with.

LITEROM @ Campus : As soon as we plug in the CAMPUS SERVER in the Local Area Network of the school, it makes available an offline website throughout the campus, thereby eliminating the dependency of the solution on high speed internet connectivity and providing tremendous data transfer speed through out the campus. This browser based automation system integrates all the departments of the school working viz., academics, fees, transport, stock, health etc ...

NOTE : Both intranet & internet version work hand in hand with each other. This means that the required changes reflect at both the ends.



What Literom can do ?
When it comes to implementation of IT, the Indian education community, specially the schools are seen maintaining a low profile. The reason behind this cold response towards technology is the mindset. Schools generally consider IT as a subject to be taught rather than a tool to be used. This article is an effort to change the conventional mindset of the Indian education community and bring forward the benefits of IT for efficient school administration and management.



Advantages
• Smooth handling of admission records and applications is possible with proper software which is a very big issue with manual process.
• Fact based easy access to figures and data helps in making productive management decisions.
• All the reports and communication with education boards (CBSE etc.) can be done fast and error free without much of time and dependency. With manual work it is very much dependent process on the concerned person and care full handling is required.
• With out a proper IT solution the interaction and information exchange with parents is a tedious and time consuming process. We reduce the frequency to cope with it but with a proper solution schools can be very transparent and quick in communicating with parents as there is no extra hard work required.
• Compilation of exam reports and analysis is almost in real time with IT wherein it use to block almost everything at the time of examinations as the entire education system use to get busy with calculations and report generation.
• In manual processing the exchange of information within various departments of the institution is very difficult and time consuming. For example fine in library should be taken in fee section and the caution money in fee department should reflect in library.



Schools experience that the productivity of the same office staff increases after implementation of IT solutions. They can work out things well in time and are free to take care of the other smaller issues in school management. The same office work can be handled by less staff thereby allowing the rest of the man power to be deputed in other productive works.
• In comparison to the manual fee collection less office staff can handle a big volume of fee collection.
• The calculation and various reporting formats are generated in various sections.
• The payroll processing at the end of month takes less time.
• Stock management is more accurate and less time consuming.
• Maximum time in manual processing is wasted in retrieving the earlier record and processing. Whereas, the same time can now be utilized efficiently in further information collection.



4. Reducing the paper work to a great extend thereby making you eco friendly and the process cost effective.
In a school since we manage information of thousands of users at a time against a number of transactions and activities, the paper usage in very high for collection, saving and distribution of such information. Moreover the multiple copies of the data multiplies the usage. An IT solution with a good mechanism for the information processing and sharing saves a significant amount of paper for the school which in tern in not just cost effective but is eco friendly as well.
Although in present scenario it is hard to talk about paperless working but these kind of efforts take us very close to this position.
• Many schools like St. Anne's (Jodhpur), DPS (Jodhpur) and Bhartiya Vidaya Bhavans, Jodhpur don't use any attendance registers and similarly the marks collection and processing is also less paper oriented.
• Some of these schools are also practicing online exams to fine tune student skills without using paper based exams. Although they continue with same examination for their general exam.
• There is a great consumption of paper in regular circulars within the organization and also to the parents. An IT base solution can not only make this process easy and fast but will save thousand and thousand of paper sheets for the school in the entire year. Although we can continue to use papers for most important information like report cards. Remember, a sheet with printing will not cost less than a rupee.
• There is a significant amount of reduction of paper usages in processing and maintaining examination records. Starting from student list to final reports only the required print outs are taken precisely.
• Till now the only way to circulate current news by the school is through printed news letters. Every such periodical news circulation is late, time consuming and also utilizes lot of paper and manpower. Schools like RIMC Dehradun, Welham Boys Dehradun, LKSEC Gotan etc, use their website and intranet enabled with dynamic news publishing system to circulate news in fastest and eco-friendly manner.
5. Strengthening relationship with parents by maintaining a proper information system.
Communication and transparency always play a key role in forming a healthy relation ship with parents and also add to their satisfaction. Properly working information system helps us making better use of parent teacher meetings as the crucial time of personal interaction is not consumed in just accessing the basic information and setting up the agenda.
Some schools are also using their web sites and portals to keep their parents informed about the latest in the school and facilitating their knowledge sharing with smartly designed tools.
• Parents being busy these days can't pay frequent visit to school but IT can help them be in touch with school for all they want and as frequent as they want from any where in this world.
• Properly and timely informed parents can contribute better in the educational development of the child.
• Schools can also keep parent informed about parenting problems and can guide them without putting much time and efforts.
• Teachers can enhance their interaction with students by using concepts of schooling round the clock around the globe.
• Simple features like news letter broadcasting can keep parents informed about the hard work put in by the school for the overall development of the child.
6. Saving a lot of Man hrs, which directly means saving a lot of money.
Automation of basic procedures in school save a lot of man hrs which directly reflects to expenditure of the school. FEE, Admission, Payroll, stock
• FEE department was earlier managed by four people in St. Anne's Jodhpur and use to take the full day time to compile reports. Now it is easily managed by two and reports and generated almost in real time. The spare man power is assisting the other schooling aspects.
• Library which was earlier managed with more than one Librarian and still had many short comings is now fully updated and equipped with information and is managed by just one librarian in many schools.
7. Increasing the reach and effectiveness of teachers by making them work on their core issue of imparting education instead of working on data management and admin related issues in the school and while at home.
8. Automation of important units like fees, library and stock can effectively eliminate any ambiguity and loss of property and liquidity of the school. We have come across various examples with schools where irregularity in fee collection resulted in serious money loss. IT based solutions can improve this situation significantly.
• Manual stock maintenance is very easy to be misused and is very difficult to supervise. The computerized stock can save loss of valuable school assets and can also track consumption and help you make management decisions.
• It was difficult to control various point of sales in schools like tuck shop and canteen but computerized system can help in controlling and channelising this aspect of schooling very well.
9. Reducing a lot of communication cost on various communication based processes in the school.
• Assuming that a printed communication with parents takes at least Rs. 10 per copy, communication cost can be significantly reduced by gradually upgrading to electronic communication methods like e-mail, news letter broadcasting and SMS.
• Schools invest a lot of money in keeping track and communicating with their alumni. With an efficient online solutions this is not just made more effective but reduces the cost involvement significantly.
10. Getting a better grip on the working and functionality of your institution by keeping all management information system on your fingers or just a click away.
11. There are many other important things that are only possible with Information technology and not by normal or conventional methods.

12. If planned properly a single point solution can eliminate redundant entry of data at various units in the institution.
13. Connecting schools under a group :
IT based solutions can provide single point control and information access and better utilization of resources at group level. Group of Somerville schools in Delhi are experimenting one such attempt to connect all their schools from grass route level for all admin tasks from a single point. The communication between the branches was very difficult, resource hungry and limited. The new management system can also help them in making effective decisions.
14. IT can help school in connecting their always moving and distant members i.e. Alumni.

Students get a new platform not only to gain but also to express the knowledge base inside them. The simplified and effective way to of joint efforts of learning will give them a great ground to run in up to the limits of their will power. Tools like articles and online exams do provide them a new deal of learning and perfection.