SHEMBLOG

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Patna which started its operations on 7th August is facing severe waterlogging in the temporary premises that is allocated till the arrangement of permanent campus. The campus has been facing this problem since last one week and classes are being affected, leaving the study schedule in dismay.

Faculties and students are in distress over the severe waterlogging problem, as entire premises is submerged in the water. Earlier the state chosen this polytechnic as temporary premises for conducting the classes. Government has started the acquisition process of 500 acres of land for the permanent campus of IIT-P. The permanent campus is expected to be completed in 2-3 years.

A new building of Sarvodya Kanya Vidyalaya was inagurarated by Delhi’s Education Minister Mr. Mr. Arvinder Singh Lovely on Wednesday. The school building has state of the art facilities for students, which includes modern elevators. It will be the first government school of India to have lift for students.

The school building is completed in record 26 months, and includes facilities like modern class rooms, labs, internal water supply and drainage system. Delhi government has spent about Rs. 6.53 crore in setting up the infrastructure of this school building.

Municipal Corporation Of Delhi (MCD) has announced plans to start the upgradation process of all MCD schools. A grant of Rs. 300 crores is sanctioned for the same, which will be spent on the upgradation process. Currently, a large number of MCD schools are in pathetic condition running in tents, sheds and semi-pucca buildings.

MCD is also planning to deploy security guards in all the schools running by them to improve the security of students.

Business franchising has proved to be a successful model to expand vigorously and in a small time period. We now have both product franchise and service franchise, made popular by the franchisors and the franchisee that work for common goals. As any popular brand decides to go for franchise model, the provider or franchisor often conceives the idea of a good franchisee.

Most product and service franchisors favour the qualities and attributes of the franchisee that is hard working and honest. But that is not all. A franchisee that likes and endorses the business model personally is deemed to prove a good one. Unless the franchisee loves the business he is into, the growth opportunities are apparently limited.

After personal endorsements and liking comes the commitment. The franchisee must be committed to make his business a success story. Sometimes it happens that franchise owners are too much disinterested and are entirely dependent on franchisor’s support and assistance. Such franchisee makes little progress, as the motivation and drive to excel regardless of assistance and support is missing.

Franchisee must also be straightforward and honest. Attritions between franchisee and franchisor results in acrimonious relations, which is not a good sign for the healthy development of business for both the parties. The two have to have a mutual consensus and work for the benefit of all.

Here is a checklist to help while awarding franchisee the opportunity to represent the brand:

Past record or experience in the same or similar business
Relations with previous partners or employers
Individual financial strength of the one claiming franchisee
Awareness about and inclination towards particular service or product
Affinity for particular brand

Business franchising is one sure shot for success. Those who miss do not aim for the right spot.

The largest northern state of India, Uttar Pradesh has over 56,000 schools without electricity. Soon their electrification process is going to be started, informed the state government official.

State government has sanctioned about Rs. 1.7 crore for the project covering primary and secondary schools of over 71 districts. The whole electrification process will be completed in different phases starting with 1,000 schools in remote areas.

According to latest reports many schools in the country have started installing CCTVs in the campus to keep an eye on the children. School authorities have proclaimed that cameras and other equipment had to be installed for security reasons. However, some parents have rebuffed such measures and said that it would affect the behavior of their children.

Cameras and CCTVs have been installed at most of the public places like metro stations, shopping malls and other places where public flow is maximum. But, it is for the first time that CCTVs have found their way to educational institutes.

There has been a wide debate over the issue of maintaining discipline in the campus by using such arrangements as CCTVs. School authorities who have gone ahead with the proposal are of the opinion that constant monitoring of the children is pre requisite to maintaining discipline in the campus.

According to one official, a reputed school in Kolkata has installed 32 cameras that help to maintain a vision of different places in the campus. People now doubt that such measures can be effective. Instead they fear that the thought of being watched all the times would have adverse effects on the children.

Last year, there was an incident of a student being shot in the school. Similar incidents have been reported, but their frequency is very low and it rarely happens that children get seriously hurt in a school. Still, that gives school authorities some reasons to bank upon.

The master plan of the school should be built around the classroom – rest of the facilities and rooms are built with the classroom at the core of school design.

Educational philosophy of the management

The ancillary rooms like the art room craft room and other facilities need to be designed keeping in mind the education philosophy of the management. For example, if dramatics are to be stressed then an auditorium, amphitheatre etc will form a part of the core design. Similarly different education focus may be in IT, art, vocational education etc. The arrangement of these blocks should be done considering the daily schedule of the pupils and accordingly placed so that there is efficient use of their time and time is not wasted in commuting from one part of the school to another.

Cost of construction

The simpler the design the less the cost. Fancy and ornamental things should only be used to create a pleasant environment beyond that if any expenditure has not educational value as well it should be avoided.

Adaptable to future changes in education

Further, it is not about today – the management should have a long term vision of what schools will be in the future and accordingly design to accommodate these needs. It is not only expensive to renovate a building but also very difficult as children and their safety has to be considered and the fact that most schools are full to capacity ! The only time a school may be remodeled is the 45 days summer break – which makes it impossible to carry out major repairs through the lifetime of the school.

Orientation of the school

The orientation of the building should be such that natural light and ventilation are maximized while protecting the children from harsh weather as well. For example, North East facing windows will prevent direct sunlight thereby reducing cooling costs.

Variety of learner and learning’s

The school design should also be such that it accommodates the multi-dimensional learning needs of a variety of learners- each of whom may have their own pace of learning.

Caters to a variety of sizes

Further, as a school may cater to 2 years to 17 years old to adult teachers- the design has to be such that all these children are comfortable. The younger ones need their colorful spaces, smaller furniture and the older ones need areas which they can relate to – benches, IT stations etc.

Attractive

Finally, the school should be welcoming and inviting for the children. It should be colorful and yet not distracting.