Introduction

Pragati English Boarding School, located in Pokhara, Nepal, began using the Veda school management system four years ago. Before this change, the school struggled with operational issues that hindered education quality and communication. This case study explores Veda's impact, from initial challenges to systematic solutions and notable improvements in school management. Embracing Veda streamlined administrative processes and enhanced the educational experience for students, parents, and teachers.

Challenges Faced by Pragati English Boarding School

Inefficient Homework and Assignment Tracking

Teachers tracked homework and assignments by hand, which led to mistakes and inefficiencies. They found it difficult to check if students had completed their work and understood it. Often, parents did not know about their children’s homework, making it hard to help them at home.

Ineffective Communication

The school mainly used letters to communicate, but these were frequently delayed or lost. Sometimes, important messages did not reach parents on time, causing misunderstandings and missed opportunities.

Cumbersome Billing System

Collecting fees was slow and inefficient, often taking 10-15 days. Parents had to come to the school to pay, which was inconvenient and caused delays.

Attendance Tracking Issues

The school tracked attendance by hand, which was error-prone and inefficient. If a student didn’t arrive at school, parents were not informed quickly, raising concerns about safety.

Inefficient Document Management

The school stored important documents physically, which risked them being lost or hard to find. Teachers spent a lot of time managing these documents instead of teaching.

Result Compilation Delays

Manually compiling results was slow and prone to mistakes, causing delays in announcing results. When report cards were lost, replacing them accurately was difficult, leading to discrepancies in records.

Lack of Comprehensive Student Information

Teachers had limited access to complete student information, which made it difficult to tailor their interactions to individual student needs. Parents also lacked an effective way to give feedback or communicate quickly with teachers.

The Transformation with Veda

After implementing Veda, Pragati English Boarding School underwent a significant transformation, addressing each challenge in a systematic and integrated manner.

Efficient Homework and Assignment Tracking

Initial Change: Pragati introduced chapter-wise video recording and sharing, enabling students to learn at their own pace.

Process: Teachers record lesson videos and upload them to the app, where students can access them for homework and assignments.

Result: Parents can now track homework completion, assist their children, or communicate with teachers as needed.

Impact: There was a 20% increase in student homework completion rates.

Enhanced Communication

Building on Homework Tracking: To ensure parents are informed about assignments and can support their children, Pragati implemented a dual notification system using both SMS and app notifications.

Process: Urgent messages are sent via SMS for immediate delivery, while less urgent ones are sent through the app.

Result: 85% of all school communications now reach parents instantly, ensuring they are timely informed.

Impact: Improved communication led to a 30% increase in parental engagement.

Streamlined Billing System

Next Logical Step: With improved communication, the school tackled fee collection by integrating mobile banking for payments and automated billing notifications.

Process: Fees are collected online, with receipts automatically generated and sent to parents.

Result: Collection time has been reduced from 10-15 days to within a week.

Impact: Digital fee collections now represent 30% of the total, enhancing cash flow and reducing administrative burdens.

Automatic Attendance Tracking

Enhancing Safety and Efficiency: Building on the advancements in communication, Pragati automated the attendance tracking system, including parent notifications.

Process: Teachers record attendance digitally, and parents are alerted by 10 AM if their child is absent.

Result: Parents are promptly informed about their child's attendance, enhancing safety.

Impact: This has led to fewer administrative errors and improved student safety.

Implementation of Efficient Document Management

Ensuring Document Security: Pragati introduced a system for digital document storage and retrieval to enhance administrative efficiency.

Process: Important documents are uploaded to the cloud and linked to student profiles.

Result: Documents are securely stored and easily accessible, minimizing the risk of loss.

Impact: This has reduced administrative errors and saved significant time for both teachers and parents.

Quick and Accurate Result Compilation

Improving Academic Transparency: Veda automated the compilation of results and the creation of digital mark sheets to streamline academic processes further.

Process: Teachers enter marks directly into the system, which instantly generates and publishes results.

Result: Results are available immediately post-exams, ensuring timely announcements.

Impact: This has enhanced transparency and trust through consistent, accessible academic records.

Providing Comprehensive Student Information

Supporting Personalized Education: Veda has created comprehensive digital profiles for each student, finalizing the transformation of the school's operations.

Process: Teachers access detailed student histories, including academic performance and extracurricular achievements.

Result: This allows teachers to engage more effectively with students and offer personalized attention.

Impact: Enhanced teacher-student interactions and increased parent satisfaction, with 40% of parents actively using the app for communication.

Cost Reduction and Operational Efficiency

Result: Implementing digital notifications has reduced costs by Rupees 200 per student, i.e. less human intervention and paper usage! 

Impact: Pragati English Boarding School has experienced a significant reduction in operational costs and an improvement in overall efficiency.

Conclusion

The implementation of Veda at Pragati English Boarding School has significantly improved its operations by addressing inefficiencies in homework tracking, communication, fee collection, attendance, document management, and result compilation. This transformation has enhanced student engagement, parental involvement, and overall operational efficiency, demonstrating that a comprehensive school management system like Veda is essential for modernizing school management and improving the educational experience for all stakeholders.