Autonomous school economy purely depends on students’ school fee. School management invests a big amount on developing school infrastructure. School management plans for getting more and more new admissions every year to boost up school economy. Chairperson and trust spends so much money for promoting school and establishing as a brand school in local vicinity. Each school is doing same tasks for a long time.
School management invests so much on advertising school through different resources i.e. hiring professionals, big banners, newspaper advertisement etc but school management does not care about school resources. We have been observing for last 8 years that school supportive staffs play crucial role in admission drive. Autonomous schools do not pay respected salary to their supportive staffs (peon, drivers, conductors, guards) in developing countries. We do not show high values for dignity of labor and dignity of individuals, however supportive staffs bring so many parents to visit school during admission time. Parent footfalls in the school campus converted into more admissions in the school.
Admission Drive -Roll of supportive staffs in admission campaign
Supportive staffs communicate with local guardians since school management hires supportive staffs from local surrounding. Supportive staffs are so much dedicated for their institution. They are connected with local people. Supportive staffs indentify prospective parents. They talk with them. They encourage prospective parents to visit school.
Generally, we have mentality to consider them below average since they work in low profile and low salary. School management can use supportive staffs as resource person to motivate known parent to visit school. School drivers, peons and other supportive staffs may not be well versed with school vision and mission but if they motivate parents to visit school for further inquiry from school office counter, half of the school task is over. Now school admission in charges (Office Associate, Parent Relation Officer and other concern person) communicate the needs, desires and expectations of guardians.
We met several skilled and experienced school drivers from different Indian provinces. They were able to convince more parents for taking admission in school in their own ways. School management should look into their matters. It is big question for us that (a) What are the reasons behind these motivation? (b) Why do they motivate people to visit school even if their salary is very low (hand to mouth)?
While meeting with various supportive school staffs in different Indian provinces, I greatly felt that they have high regards for education system ( no matter even if they cannot write or read/may be have literate). They cannot advertise school as professional sales person but they can share so many convincing stories about school with prospective parents. Sometimes school management sends their school staffs for meeting parents in local area. We say it “Door to Door Admission Campaign”. It is not a surprise to see that sometimes an established school also conducts admission campaigning (door to door) for keeping the school position intact. So many good upcoming schools pose a challenge for them each year. School management involves teaching as well as non-teaching staffs for getting good number of new admissions and retaining existing parent in the same school. 20-30 percent parents have no problem in changing school.20-30 percents drop out students poses a big and difficult challenges for school management. The concept of door to door admission campaign arises due to this reason. School drivers helps school admission core committee members in identifying potential parents and arrange meeting with them and also take members to the right place.
Why do they do so?
School supportive staffs are looking for safe and secure service tenure with school. Every school does paper work according to local and central governments guidelines but in reality this is completely unorganized sector. Supportive staffs wishes to be associated with the organization for long time. Sometimes, they expect extra incentives from school management for performing these tasks. Sometimes they do it for the sake of institutional growth. They feel happy and connected with the organization.
Role of Supportive Staffs in Increase Admissions in School-How do they do so?
Since they are local people, they know the parents of their area. They communicate with those parents regularly. Parent feels connected with them.
Visionary leader of the school tries to empower their supportive staffs on various occasions. They identified motivated employees. They encourage them to perform various task i.e. collecting data, identifying right parent etc. They try to respect the importance of various staffs in the school. Supportive staffs help school for promoting school and bringing a good number of admissions of school. If a school management would decide to spend only 5 percent of school advertisement budget on supportive staffs welfare/in terms of incentive, then result will be more effective.
Satisfied staffs, positive working culture, and motivational leader play crucial role in admission drive. Staff is directly related to the prospective parents work as resource person. Drivers, peons and other supportive staffs related to school motivate guardian and even guardians’ visit campus for inquiry; moreover most of time footfalls in the campus turn into admission (especially Indian culture). They feel more attached to the institutions.
Motivation and hope for unconditional incentive encourage supportive staffs to fetch so many people to visit campus for the purpose of admission.
Integrity of Promise
Promises made by school staff about holistic development of child to the parents should be factual, supportive, and positive otherwise faith once broken will do damage forever—
Proper planning, proper budgeting and proper execution of planning at right time, on right place, at right speed can produce best results in terms of a good number of new admissions in school as well as retention of existing students at school.
Marketing through various means of advertisement has a long term impact on the mind of existing and prospective parents. Visionary leader always keeps high hope and positive thinking for better result. We must reviews our strategies time to time, and must improvise marketing strategies, but never ever should feel impatient by not seeing projected outcome. We should keep working for quality school, quality teachers, quality supportive staffs, quality infrastructure and qualitative students who can contribute something great to the parent, society, nation and the cosmic universe.
Rajeev Ranjan
Indian Educationist
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