Education and the Girl Child

Project feasibility report for a school

At the onset my apologies for the length of my write-up, this is on account of my zeal to do justice to the topic.

Feasibility literally means whether your project idea will work or not. It knows before hand whether there exists a sizeable market for the proposed school; what would be the investment requirements and where to get the funding from; whether and wherefrom the necessary technical know-how to convert the idea into a tangible product may be available, and so on.

The group shares responsibility for guiding the school towards continuous improvement. The school is responsible, by law, for establishing an advisory council and develop procedures for the election and appointment of Advisory Council members.

A typical feasibility report would cover details as below: 

 The nature of the business, management teams, financial and economic analysis and marketing plan. In other words, the major areas covered by a feasibility study can be divided into the followin major areas, namely:

1. Introduction: The intent for doing this school, the team investing in the project and type of school, board affiliation, facilities to be provided, geography covered for student acquisition, proposed fee level, differentiator to existing schools as USP.
2. Description of the business: The type of school, board affiliation, facilities to be provided, geography covered for student acquisition, proposed fee level, differentiator to existing schools as USP.
3. Market consideration - A preliminary Evaluation: A market is defined as a geographic location/area where in your services will create an impact. It is a study of knowing who all comprise your customers.
4. Management Team: are people designate responsible for the project, investors, strategic managers, operating responsibility holders.
5. Technical Specifications and Production plan: The issues involved in the assessment of technical analysis of the proposed project may be classified into those pertaining to inputs, throughputs and outputs.
6. Financial understanding: The objective of financial analysis is to ascertain whether the proposed project will be financially viable in the sense of being able to meet the burden of servicing debt and whether the proposed project will satisfy the return expectations of those who provide the capital.
7. Examination of the critical risks and problems: Economic Analysis-is the study of costs and benefits. For example, technically, schools are known to teach languages. Imagine introducing a particular language to later discover the challenge in getting a teacher for the same at a current salary cost.
8. Ecological and Social analysis: In recent years, environmental concerns have assumed a great deal of significance especially for projects, which have significant ecological and social implications.

9.Legal and Administrative : Think of the plight of the entrepreneur who worked on the idea of a special school , finds it eminently feasible only to learn subsequently that 'special schools ' does not figure as a school for approval within the administrative definition of regional laws as applicable on that date. What is implied from this example is that the entrepreneur has to be sure also of the administrative and legal issues involved in the project. These include, choice of the form of business organisation, registration and clearances and approvals from the diverse authorities.
10.  Evaluation and conclusion

PROJECT REPORT: The findings of the feasibility analysis may be compiled in a project report.

BUSINESS PLAN: The feasibility analysis of the chosen project ideas would help you zero in on where you would like to commit yourself. The difference between the feasibility report and business plan lies essentially in 'action orientation.' As such, a business plan is a blue print of entrepreneurial intentions.

Do get in touch with us for we are experts in doing Feasibility Reports, Project Reports and Business Plans. Thus, together we will Develop Schools.

Education for all

Rita Wilson, Chief Editor

(Ex-chief executive and Secretary, ICSE)

Recently delegations from Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria and Pakistan, known as the E - 9 countries, met to discuss a subject vital for their countries' future: Education. These countries are committed to fulfil the pledge of "Education for All" by 2015. The challenges facing these countries are enormous ranging from exploding population, rampant poverty, gender imbalances, malnourishment to widespread illiteracy.
India has shown the way to address these challenges. A decade ago, 30 million Indian children were not in school; now, the figure is reduced to 3 million. All children between the ages of 6 and 14 are provided free and compulsory education as a constitutional right. Children from poor families are provided free mid-day meals as an incentive to attend school. Thus, the enrolment figures in schools have gone up though not to the desirable levels. The Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan has made a significant contribution in this direction.
This does not mean that all children enrolled in school today will grow up to be IT smart. The bane of the job industry in our country in this age is that most graduates in the job market lack work related skills. Most MNC giants put the newly recruited workers through short-term intensive training before placing them in positions of responsibility. In short, the government needs to emphasise quality besides inclusion and access in education; and India needs relevant curriculum and trained teachers to reduce unemployability among the youth.
Otherwise, the domino effect of frustration and unemployment will lead to unimaginable consequences in terms of social unrest and the risk of organized violence. We must give them a better chance of gainful employment through more and improved educational opportunities.
There are 540 million Indians under the age of 25. The labour force is expected to increase by 32 per cent over the next 20 years, whereas it will decline by 4 per cent in industrialized countries. India's favourable demography can add significantly to its economic-growth potential for the next three decades, provided that its young people are educated and trained properly.
The need for reform in education is obvious and the present government is seized of this need. Education has become a national priority and the corporate world is joining hands with the government to work towards this priority.