Education PR

Thank you for reading my earlier blogs and sharing your views. I really feel encouraged after reading your feedback in the comment column. Friends, presenting my 53^rd blog titled “Education PR” to you.  

Friends, as per UN policy brief August’2020 “Education during COVID-19 and beyond”, the COVID-19 pandemic has created the largest disruption of education systems in history, affecting nearly 1.6 billion learners in more than 190 countries and all continents. Closures of schools and other learning spaces have impacted 94 per cent of the world’s student population, up to 99 per cent in low and lower-middle income countries. Like other sectors, education sector is also in distress. The crisis is exacerbating pre-existing education disparities by reducing the opportunities for many of the most vulnerable children, youth, and adults – those living in poor or rural areas, girls, refugees, persons with disabilities and forcibly displaced persons – to continue their learning. Learning losses also threaten to extend beyond this generation and erase decades of progress, not least in support of girls and young women’s educational access and retention. Some 23.8 million additional children and youth (from pre-primary to tertiary) may drop out or not have access to school next year due to the pandemic’s economic impact alone.

Covid-19 has forced educational institutions worldwide including India to suspend physical classrooms and shift to online classes but online teaching is not as easy as speaking into the microphone at one end, and connecting a laptop or phone and listening in on the other. There are other challenges with this form of education which are faced at both ends of the spectrum - students as well as the faculty. There is substantial learning that is lost when education goes online. The biggest negative of shifting teaching online has been the absence of face-to-face contact with students. I personally feel that online teaching cannot replace the importance of physical classrooms (teaching) as these are great spaces for the students to interact with each other across lines of diversity, get along, have fun and engage in academic pursuits. There is an excitement present in the real classroom.  

Country-wide lockdown, which was enforced in March’20 due to COVID19 and is now being lifted in a phased manner, has caused an atmosphere of uncertainty in business, trade  and industry because of less-customers resulting into less sales leading to workless - jobless - cashless life for many a people / parents which has directly impacted the revenue generation of most of the private educational institutions, in turn adversely affecting their financial conditions which has impacted the salary flow of teaching and non-teaching staff also.

The UN policy brief, which I have referred in the opening para of the blog, has also warned that the pandemic has created severe disruption in the world’s education systems in history and is threatening a loss of learning that may stretch beyond one generation of students. The Brief calls for national authorities and the international community to come together to place education at the forefront of recovery agendas and protect investment in education. There is a need of multi-pronged strategy to manage this crisis and build a resilient education system in the long term to ensure continuity of learning in educational institutions.

Recently, Govt. of India has approved the new National Education Policy (NEP), 2020 with an aim to introduce several changes in the Indian education system - from the school to college level. The NEP 2020 aims at making “India a global knowledge superpower”. This is only the third major revamp of the framework of education in India since independence. The two earlier education policies were brought in 1968 and 1986.

In the NEP2020, current 10+2 system will be replaced by a new 5+3+3+4 curricular structure corresponding to ages 3-8, 8-11, 11-14, and 14-18 years respectively. This would bring the uncovered age group of 3-6 years under school curriculum, which has been recognized globally as the crucial stage for development of mental faculties of a child. It will also have 12 years of schooling with three years of Anganwadi / pre schooling.

School governance is also set to change with a new accreditation framework and an independent authority to regulate both public and private schools. More emphasis would be on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy, with no rigid separation between academic streams, extracurricular, vocational streams in schools. Vocational Education would start from Class 6 with Internships. Teaching up to at least Grade 5 to be in mother tongue/regional language and no language will be imposed on any student. A new and comprehensive National Curriculum Framework for Teacher Education (NCFTE) 2021 will be formulated by the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) in consultation with National Council of Educational Research & Training (NCERT).

A well-rounded and effective educational policy NEP 2020 is what was needed for the capacity-building of young minds at school level. From Class 6 onwards it will develop skills of the students that will drive their productivity, health, well-being and future employability in the decades to come, and ensure the overall progress of India.

Very recently, the Govt. of India has issued another set of guidelines “Unlock-5” for the next phase of relaxation of the Covid-19 lockdown and has allowed more activities.  Schools and colleges may also reopen in Unlock 5, but it has been left on the state governments who can decide to do reopen schools and colleges after October 15, but in a graded manner. The decision on reopening of educational institutions will be taken in consultation with management of the institutions, based on their assessment of the situation, and subject to certain conditions. However, even though educational institutions can reopen, online or distance learning shall continue to be the preferred mode of teaching and shall be encouraged. Where institutions are conducting online classes, if some students prefer to attend online classes rather than physically attend school, they may be permitted to do so. Students may attend educational institutions only with the written consent of their parents.

Our country holds an important place in the global education industry and has one of the largest higher education systems in the world.  Our education sector has seen a host of reforms and improved financial outlays in recent years (pre-covid) that could possibly transform the country into a knowledge haven. With human resource increasingly gaining significance in the overall development of the country, development of education infrastructure is expected to remain the key focus post-covid, and is likely to see a considerable increase in the current decade. Furthermore, with online modes of education being used by most of the educational organizations, the higher education sector in India is set for some major changes and developments in the years to come.

Education PR is one of the vital elements for successful functioning of an educational institution today. The use of PR in educational institutions is not much because of less awareness of education PR. Education institutions have a duty to educate and inform its target public which, in turn, fosters public awareness, understanding, and support for the institution and its strategic initiatives as well as for its students and employees. Informing public also improves and safeguards the reputation, builds internal morale, and creates an atmosphere conducive to education and enlightenment.

PR helps the educational institutions and the public it serves reach decisions and function more effectively by contributing to mutual understanding among groups and agencies. It serves to bring private and public policies into harmony. PR help institutions in terms of anticipating, analyzing and interpreting public opinion, attitudes and issues; PR provide counsel to the management with regard to policy decisions; and develop and implement communication programs that help educate, inform, and build a bridge connecting the educational institution with those it serves. Education PR is used to protect and advance the free flow of accurate, truthful information, and fostering informed decision making through open communication.

An educational institution has five areas to promote i.e. a. Teaching standards (course curriculum and method of teaching), b. Quality of human resource (Top management, Teachers and subordinate staff), c. Infrastructure d. Co-curricular activities and e. Achievements and awards. These five key areas need to be promoted appropriately to get target public’s attention. Education PR helps in promoting these areas by applying appropriate PR tools and techniques. Educational institutions can use PR for strategic and planned communication with its internal as well as external public.

In Education PR, 'Internal communication or PR' is meant for its internal public i.e. a. Top management, b. Teaching Staff, c. Subordinate staff d. Pupil and their parents and e. Alumni. Objectives of internal communication are; a. to share feedback b. policy matters and issues, c. new govt. rules and guidelines, d. performance review, e. activities f. better understanding and cooperation among staff etc.

'External communication or PR' is used to communicate with outside public i.e. a. media, b. various govt. agencies at district and state level, c. service providers, d. prospective students and their parents, e. potential employees f. competitors, and general public.  PR plays an important role in creating and managing relationships internally as well as externally and, can perform the following tasks for an educational institution;

1.    Creating awareness about the institution

2.    Creating and managing right image of the institution

3.    Creating and managing brand image of the institution

4.    Attracting new students and clients

5.    Managing good relations with the media

6.    Managing good employee relations

7.    Managing good teacher-parent relations

8.    Managing good community relations

9.    Managing good relations with the govt. agencies

10. Managing good relations with the alumni

To sum up, PR is the message we communicate and the relationships we establish with our public. As we practice Education PR, we will improve brand of our educational institution, connect with our community, and boost our marketing efforts. Consistent, strategic messaging with the end goal of creating and nurturing relationships with our publics is the key to our institution’s success.

    Thank you for reading the blog.

 #######

C