School Consultants

4 Aug 2021 |

Planning CCTV for schools

A question that we often face is about planning the CCTV system for schools. When a new school is being constructed or an existing school is being renovated, a CCTV system needs to be planned. We have planned and installed CCTV systems in many schools and have the benefit of seeing them work over a period of time. This article will summarise our experience and views on the same.

Are CCTV cameras mandatory in schools?

While the CBSE affiliation bye laws themselves are silent on the topic of CCTV, they do mention several indirect points connected to the topic of safety. The bye laws direct schools to follow the National Building Code and the School Safety Policy issued by the National Disaster Management Authority, along with a few other relevant policies and documents. These codes and guidelines, and state laws make it mandatory to have CCTV coverage in ‘vulnerable areas’ of schools, however, that is no guideline that all areas, including classrooms need to be covered.

Should schools have CCTV camera’s inside classrooms?

This is a much debated topic. In most organizations, employees do not like being directly monitored by CCTV while doing their work. In a classroom with only 1 teacher, the teacher feels directly monitored and feels it is an invasion of her/his privacy. It restricts their freedom to run their classes as they wish and the culture then lacks trust. On the other hand, school administration often feels that having a CCTV camera in the classroom will ensure safety and security of students. One view on this is the following:

In cities and developed areas where the staff is well qualified, trained and motivated, it is better to avoid CCTV cameras in the classrooms. If we can’t trust our teachers, who can we trust then? Students in classrooms are monitored by teachers, and they too deserve that much freedom to negotiate their time with their peers without constantly being monitored.
In some scenarios, like in pre-primary sections or in classrooms that have expensive equipment, CCTV cameras could be installed.
If the school is located in areas with high attrition of teachers, or in areas where security of kids is a key concern, only then should the administrators consider planning a CCTV in classrooms
Besides classrooms, all corridors and outdoor spaces should have CCTV coverage.

How do we plan a CCTV system for a school?

In our experience, a well planned CCTV system is effective not as a deterrent but as a post-incident analysis tool. While we may have eyes on monitors, the possibility of preventing incidents while they are happening is rare and difficult. Therefore, the following points can be kept in mind while designing the CCTV system for a school:

Cover all common areas such as corridors, lobbies, entrance and exit gates and try to cover open areas like playgrounds when feasible. Based on the schools locations, specific cameras may be planned to cover boundary walls, parking lots and basements.
Connect all the camera’s to a central place like a security room or in the admin offices.
Provide for multiple viewing displays at places like the guard room (for outdoor cameras only), reception (for indoor cameras only) and the Principal’s room / meeting room (for reviewing incidents after authorised access).
The access to all recordings must be password protected, with the password closely guarded by the head of school and / or authorised person.

Technical specifications to keep in mind while planning a CCTV system for a school

While detailed drawing and technical specifications can only be made specific to a project, here are some key points to consider:

Plan for an IP based system with POE cameras- it will avoid the need to provide a separate power connection to each camera, reduce wiring costs and increase reliability.
The NVR (network video recorder) should have extra capacity to add camera’s when required. It should also have enough storage to store all recordings for at least 1 month.
The NVR and connected switches should be powered by a UPS system only, with sufficient backup to outlast power outages.
In addition to providing wiring at planned camera locations, leave additional spare wires at locations where cameras might be required in the future.
Good brands to use for CCTV are Bosch and Honeywell, while brands such as Hikvision and CP Plus are common as they are slightly less expensive.

There are many other considerations while planning a good CCTV system for a school. Do reach out to us if you have any questions.

10 Jun 2021 |

Setting up a new school?

Are you setting up a new school?

Are you creating a new school in India? Do you have land on which you plan to set up a new school? Or maybe you want to buy land to set up your new school? Do you have an existing school and are now planning to create another new school? Before you embark on any one of these, do read this article – not only will it help save investments but also ensure that you create a school that will be successful.

Creating a new private school is a big project – it involves significant infrastructure investments and upfront costs, while the return on investment comes over a long period of time. Agreed that the returns are good in the long run, but they are not guaranteed for all schools. As competition increases and a sufficient number of schools have already been created, the chances that another one will make good return on investment is reducing. These are some of the points to consider before starting a new school, that can help guide you decisions:

Does your town or city need one more school?

A brief survey of your town or city will tell you if there is a dearth of schools there. In our experience, A, B and C class cities and towns in India already have sufficient schools and not all of them are able to achieve 100% occupancy. So why would you want to create another and add to the chaos?

Our surveys also show that most schools in these places are similar in nature – they have a standard classroom based learning environment that delivers the CBSE curriculum with some additional extra curricular activities. Progressive, younger and educated parents are looking for more – international curriculum, experiential learning, exposure and a truly 21st century learning environment. If your town or city doesn’t have many schools offering all this, that is the kind of school you should create, so it stands apart from the crowd.

Do you have sufficient funds to create a good school?

Gone are the days when schools could be started by creating a small building on a large piece of land, and expanded slowly with the fees being received from students. Instead, schools are now being created on smaller pieces of land to reduce investments and are vertically built to add capacity. They are also constructed with a lot of facilities to showcase at launch from a marketing perspective. All this requires significant upfront investment. It is wiser to plan the investment, the phases in which it would be done, the sources of the investment and then start the project. You would not want to be in a situation with an incomplete school and exhausted funds.

Patient capital and patience:

The capital investment in schools can span 4 to 5 years or longer depending on the school project plans. The return of the investment can further take anywhere between 4 -10 years. As the investments are locked in during this time, we term it patient capital. In the first few years of the operations of the school, the revenue might be lower than expenses. Despite this, expenses cannot be curtailed as that would compromise the quality of education being delivered. Every investor’s patience is tested, the ones who can continually invest and maintain the quality of operations are significantly rewarded.

Planning an innovative, new school:

Once all of the above are sorted, you need to plan an innovative new school. Consider international curriculum like the International Baccalaureate or the Cambridge Assessment International Education. Implement experiential learning or problem based learning. Look at strategies for delivering 21st century education. Accordingly, design the building and infrastructure to deliver your choices in a planned way. Keep in mind that the building should be flexible enough to incorporate future needs. Invest in essential services – of a school and educational consultant who can guide and keep costs in control.

With all of this, you should have a good future-ready school that becomes that city or town’s top choice in a matter of a few years. In our experience, all the investments done can be recouped back in 5 to 10 years, and thereafter, it can offer an additional 30-40% ROI, year after year.

Newton Schools has completed several greenfield school projects.

For all inquiries regarding setting up a new school, please contact us.

4 Jun 2021 |

School Consultants in India

Are school consultants necessary for school projects? What is the role of a school consultant in India? In this post, we explore various scenarios in which school consultants can add value. Let’s dive in.

Who needs a school consultant?

These are some of the main reasons for bringing a school consultant on board:

If you are an entrepreneur setting up a new school and making an investment into land and building, you should definitely hire a school consultant to walk with you through the project. They can guide you on making a better school, one that will withstand the changes over time and still deliver an amazing experience for students.
If you have an existing school and are looking at upgrading the infrastructure or the quality of the school, school consultants can add value to the change process.
If you have an existing school that is doing well, they can do an audit and give you an independent perspective of where you stand and what could be improved.

School consultants are usually brought on board by the owners, management or board of governors of a school. While they may work with school leaders, staff, students and parents, they usually submit the required reports to the school owners so that appropriate plans can be drawn to implement changes.

What are the types of school consultants in India?

There are numerous school consultants in India and they can be broadly categorised into the following:

Academic Consultants: Consultancies setup by ex-Principals or teachers usually focus on the academic side of the school – they work on defining the curriculum, teacher training, recruitment’s etc.
Project Consultants: These are school consultants who have experience in launching new schools and creating infrastructure for school projects. Project consultants often define the financial projections of the school, plan the kind of school to be created and help in getting the infrastructure ready for operations. They are usually recruited at the beginning of a new project and their roles end once the school is ready for launch.
General Consultants: Consultants who cannot be defined as educational or project consultants fall in this category. They have expertise in school operations and management, and can act as a bridge between school owners and everyday operations of schools.

Over the years, Newton Schools has provided services for all the above 3 functions to various schools. While the core team at Newton Schools has expertise in School Project Consultancy, we have team members who also service the other functions.

There are other kinds of educational consultants providing services for enrolling students in universities abroad, only recruitment services etc. They are not relevant from the perspective being considered here.

What are the benefits of a school consultant?

As a school owner or management team member, you are involved in creating or operating a particular school or group of schools. You would need perspective on each decision, that is not clouded by your current thinking and operations. Experienced school consultants would have worked with multiple school projects and gained a variety of experience. They bring this value to the table and ensure your school benefits. Bringing on board an experience school consultant benefits in the following additional ways:

Cost Savings: Experienced school consultants can help your school save costs, they know how to avail services at reasonable prices and know the source of good service providers.
Avoid Mistakes: Many schools have tried various things and made several mistakes and learnt from them. You can avoid those mistakes, saving time and money, by bringing in experienced school consultants.
Wider Vision: While you may have a great vision and a plan for your school, it helps to validate the same by discussing it with school consultants. Often, the vision and the plan are enhanced by the inputs provided by the consultants.
Better execution: This is especially true for new schools that are to be constructed. School consultants can ensure the whole project is executed well, avoiding delays and mistakes that have significant costs.

How much do school consultants charge?

While this answer isn’t applicable on all, some of the ways in which school consultants charge are:

1. Project Cost: School consultants offer a proposal for executing a particular project and define a fixed cost for the project. In such proposals, the time consumed by the consultants or the time span of the project is defined. This is usually done for smaller, shorter projects.
2. Retainers: Most school consultants offer a retainer service, where they contribute a fixed amount of time per month to the school. Their role during that time is defined. Retainers help schools in getting maximum inputs from consultants at a fixed cost over a long period of time.
3. Project Percentage: This method of charging is usually applied by school consultants for new school projects, where it is expected that the project consultants will help save costs. A defined percentage of the entire project value is charged as a fee by the school consultants and their role is defined to ensure the project proceeds smoothly, within a budget.
4. Time Basis: There are consultants who charge by the hour. They usually have a minimum number of hours defined per week or per month and the role is also accordingly limited.

In most of the above, any travel and outstation stay of a consultant is billed to the school. If the consultancy is a firm with additional manpower supporting the main school consultants, the charges are accordingly billed to include services of all the people involved. The charges of all consultancy services vary, based on their expertise level, the services they provide and the specific requirements of your school.

For additional information or to talk to us at Newton Schools, please contact us.