5 Cost-Cutting Strategies For Schools And Colleges
Maintaining schools and colleges is a costly affair. Students must be provided with multiple amenities and the latest technology for a wholesome learning experience and overall development. Nowadays, schooling is not limited to 5–6 subjects — in addition to academics, sports and extracurricular activities are also designed to help students realise what sparks their interest and what they want from their life.
Therefore, schools and colleges often wonder how to cut costs to provide students with the best learning experience in the most affordable manner. However, how can schools and colleges implement cost-cutting in their services? Let’s find out!
5 Best Cost-Cutting Strategies for Schools and Colleges
Following are the five best cost-cutting strategies for schools and colleges:
- Going Paperless
Schools and colleges usually use vast quantities of paper. From books to exam sheets, question papers, notes, worksheets, assignments, registers, administration etc., paper is used in almost every activity a school or college undertakes. Therefore, balancing and reducing paper usage can help schools and colleges save a lot of money. One of the best ways is to go digital in whatever way possible.
For instance, an app can be used to make a note of the attendance of students and faculty members. E-book versions of textbooks can be used. Exams can be conducted online, or a hybrid model (online + offline exams) can be adopted. Further, libraries can be converted into e-libraries. This can help with cost-cutting, as replacing books that can get damaged or misplaced is expensive. There are tons of ways in which schools and colleges can save on paper costs.
- Smart Inventory Management
Schools and colleges involve a lot of inventory. In many institutions, you will find inventory being mismanaged. School inventories can include chalks, dusters, markers, stationery items, papers, classroom materials, uniforms, etc. Students or even teachers can easily misplace all these items, and there is a high chance of leakage of funds due to carelessness regarding school inventory.
Certain policy changes can help you reduce fund leakage due to inventory mismanagement. You can place stricter policies and guidelines on managing and distributing inventory items. Further, verifying inventory and tracking each item can help you analyse which items are more susceptible to being misplaced or lost. Additionally, using Smartboards instead of traditional blackboards can further reduce the use of inventory items.
- Go for Green Energy
Schools and colleges have high energy consumption. Each class likely has an air conditioner, fans, lights, Smartboards, projectors, etc. Thus, you can imagine the level of energy that a single school or college consumes in a single day, especially in schools that run in multiple shifts. Therefore, choosing green energy can help these institutions save considerably on energy costs.
Installing solar panels can enable the production of electricity in-house — this will directly reduce the electricity costs. Further, schools and colleges can consider switching to LED bulbs that are energy efficient and consume relatively lesser energy. Various other electricity-generating equipment like wind electric systems can be installed to boost electricity production.
- Cut out Unnecessary Extracurricular Activities
Schools and colleges tend to conduct a variety of extracurricular activities. While several of these are useful and necessary for the holistic development of the students, educational institutions should evaluate the value that each activity is adding to students’ lives. This does not mean limiting the students to just classroom time — However, many activities only serve as entertainment and do not make a significant positive addition to the student’s development. Schools and colleges can eliminate or replace such activities with more productive and value-adding ones. Certain activities can be shifted to an online platform instead of eliminated. This can help such institutions save the costs of organising and conducting such activities.
- Increase Class Sizes
Each classroom comes with its own set of fixed costs. Therefore, increasing the classroom strength effectively reduces the annual spending of schools and colleges. If 20–25 students are typically assigned to one classroom, the institution can consider increasing this number to 30–35, depending upon the classroom size, without compromising the quality of teaching.
Several related costs — hiring extra class teachers, equipment like fans, Smartboards, cupboards, projectors, etc. — will be eliminated as a result. It is crucial to ensure the classes are not overcrowded if using this strategy to cut costs. Further, schools and colleges should strive for better utilisation of existing spaces.
In a Nutshell
Educational institutions need to act smartly to reduce their operational costs. Investing and adopting technology may involve initial investments, but in the long run, it will not only help in cost-cutting but also enhance the administrative efficiency of these institutions. For instance, two of the above suggestions, i.e., going paperless and going green, may require a significant initial investment by an educational institution. However, in the long run, the benefits of these strategies far outweigh the costs.
Further, becoming tech-savvy and adopting the latest trends and technologies to enhance teaching will only help educational institutions deliver better learning experiences and gain a positive reputation among existing as well as prospective students and their parents. There has been a paradigm shift in the schooling system due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Further, Web 3.0 will redefine the way people will consume learning. In this post-COVID era, online schooling is rapidly gaining popularity among students.
The convenience of learning from anywhere has eliminated geography as a concern in obtaining learning. Online schooling is transforming students’ learning experiences, and it is to stay. While the west is already adopting this model, 21K School is India’s first online-only Web 3.0 school that offers transparent and quality education regardless of the situation and location. Now is the time for you to adapt to the new and transparent learning model with 21K School.
