Enter your keyword here Functions Industries May, 28, 2015 05:32:15 pm The Magazine Login News Signup Archives Home Evidencebased data to improve school performance Details 01 Apr 2015 Posted by MADHUMITA PRABHAKAR Michael and Susan Dell Foundation (MSDF)backed Gray Matters was started with a simple vision of helping affordable private schools measure school performance, and suggest improvements THE PROBLEM Today, in India, there are over one lakh affordable, private Englishmedium schools targeted at children from low income and middleincome groups. The children join these schools in the hope of achieving a social upward mobility. However, there is no proper system in place to measure the impact these schools are creating, and even monitor the progress made by these kids. Pradeep Sharma, an MBA from Asian Institute of Management and a former employee of Infosys and HCL, saw potential to build a nonprofit organization focused on measuring key metrics in a school and result in enhancing the following: enrollment, learning outcome, teaching quality and overall patient satisfaction. THE SOLUTION “We were interested in disrupting this space but one of the primary challenges we faced was, we didn’t know how many schools are there in each city, what are the challenges they face, what is their affordability quotient to improve their offerings and such. That’s when we thought we’ll increase transparency in this space in order to help schools offer better quality education,” shares Sharma. Thus was founded Gray Matters Education Pvt. ltd in early 2014, with the primary objective of rating schools based on a set of tests which included school infrastructure audits, live classroom management observations, standardized tests for children, focus group discussions with parents and more. EVOLVING FROM A NONPROFIT TO FORPROFIT MODEL Initially incubated by Gray Matters Capital, the company followed a declining subsidy model with the first 35 schools in Hyderabad. Meaning, since the schools had restrictive budgets, the company didn’t take any fee during the first year with the company taking on 100 per cent of the cost. During the second year, the company owned up 90 per cent of the cost and the school covered 10 per cent. In the third year, the school owned 25 per cent to 50 per cent of the cost and so on. While this helped Gray Matters gain the initial trust and traction, soon, the team realised that it needed to build a financially sustainable model. “We wanted to focus on making our offering better rather than thinking we’re doing a great service. And, we didn’t want to force schools to sign up with us but allow them to choose our services. In fact, when I deliver higher value, I can sign up more schools,” reasons Sharma. Thus, in December 2013, Gray Matters spun off into an independent entity and positioned itself as an educational diagnostics and analytics company. The company’s vision was to use data to help schools take better decisions and monitor their progress over time. PLAYING ON AFFORDABILITY Despite becoming a forprofit model, the company had to innovate on several fronts to keep its pricing affordable (given the segment its solutions are targeted at). Thus, it focused on two segments to balance this – managing cost of acquisition and cost of delivery. 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Instead of going from schoolto school with a sales pitch, the company partnered with solution providers such as SEED and iDiscoveri, which already have a partnership with several hundred schools. A second strategy was to partner with NGOs, which hold programs that benefit schools in this segment, a good example being the School Leadership Program by India School Leadership Institute. “Apart from this, we also do our own workshops on topics such as implementation of technology in schools, importance of independent assessment and more, where we invite 30 to 50 schools,” shares Sharma. At such instances, the company builds a relationship of trust with the schools and offers its solutions as the next step. The AirAsia India boss discusses his interview experience with Tony Fernandes, his firm andfair management style and why it is crucial to be a serial innovator to win in the aviat... On the other hand, to reduce cost of delivery, it channelizes its nonvalue add and repetitive activities (such as holding tests at schools) to college graduates, employing them at minimal salaries. Where different Playing 20 Questions with Mittu Chandilya Where ownership and management are Dr. Ranjan Pai, Managing Director, Manipal Education and Medical Group, has led the professionalisation of the Group by consciously empowering his senior managers, seeding analytical or developmental activities are involved, it employs people with an established experience. LOOKING AHEAD In February last year, the company raised Rs. 4.5 crore from Michael and Susan Dell Foundation, the funds from which were channelised towards developing technology and creating a forprofit model. “MSDF was associated with us in one way or the other for the past two years. And, they were following our growth closely. Thus, fund raising from them was a natural next step, not something that happened at an instant,” reveals Sharma. This year alone, the company has reached out to 2,500 schools and has established a presence in Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Mumbai. It has serviced over 600 schools, impacting over 300,000 students. Going forward, its key focus areas lay in incorporating tablets and downloadable apps into the system to make assessments easier and to give schools higher exposure. Overall, it aims to partner with 5,000 schools in about five years, and achieve an operational breakeven in a year and a half. Like 0 Print Email Comments No comments for the article Post your comment Signin/register to post comment Bookmark Share several ... Building a Happy Company Ashok Sootaled Happiest Minds Technologies has woven happiness into its business process. Find out how you can do it too.... 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Beginning with mathematics, the company has developed a unique methodology to Evidencebased data to improve school performance Michael and Susan Dell Foundation (MSDF) backed Gray Matters was started with a simple vision of helping affordable private schools measure school performance, and suggest improvem “It is not about being better but it is about being different. Recognise your strength as a woman and develop on it in your corporate life” Apurva Purohit Apurva Purohit, the CEO of Radio City, believes in leading by example, a philosophy that she has used in her career that spans more than 25 years. Find us on Facebook The Smart CEO Magazine Like 11,353 people like The Smart CEO Magazine. Facebook social plugin Navigate Follow Us On Home Signup Archives Gift a friend About Us Privacy Policy Contact Us Sitemap Terms & Conditions Copyright © Smart Media Group. thesmartceo.in, All Rights Reserved, Web Solutions By BlazeDream.com
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