Gititu High School on running end of term from one system
Written by EduCore Team · Nairobi, Kenya ·
We asked Gititu High School's principal four questions and are publishing the answers exactly as he wrote them: what end of term used to involve, what changed for fees and report cards, and what is still not perfect.
What end of term used to look like
Before EduCore, end of term was quite demanding for both the administration and teachers. A lot of work was done manually, especially compiling marks, checking fee balances, preparing reports and following up different records. This meant that teachers and office staff had to spend a lot of time moving between different records and confirming information.
What pushed us to change was the need for a more organised system where student information, fees, academic records and other school activities could be managed from one platform. We wanted to reduce the amount of manual work and make it easier to access accurate information when needed.
Mr. Andrew Murage, Principal, Gititu High School
Reconciling M-Pesa payments
Previously, reconciling M-Pesa payments involved checking the M-Pesa records and then manually matching payments with individual students' accounts. This could take considerable time, especially when there were many payments coming in and some payments did not clearly indicate the student's details.
With EduCore, the process is more organised because payments can be recorded against the student's account and the fee position can be viewed from the system. It is much easier to confirm what a student has paid, what remains outstanding and keep the fee records updated. It has reduced the amount of manual checking we have to do.
Mr. Andrew Murage, Principal, Gititu High School
Entering marks and preparing report cards
Previously, entering marks and preparing reports involved a lot of paperwork and manual calculations. Teachers had to be very careful when transferring marks and preparing the final reports.
With EduCore, marks can be entered directly into the system and the academic information is brought together in one place. This makes the process more organised and reduces repetitive work. It is also easier to review a student's performance and prepare the required report information without having to go through several physical records.
For a teacher, the biggest difference is that the system saves time, particularly during the busy end-of-term period.
Mr. Andrew Murage, Principal, Gititu High School
What surprised them, and what is still not perfect
What surprised us was how many different school activities can be brought together in one system. We initially looked at EduCore mainly from the perspective of managing student records and fees, but we have found that it can also support academic management, communication and other administrative processes.
It is still a developing system, so there are areas that can be improved and we have shared some of our suggestions with the EduCore team. What we appreciate is that the team listens to feedback and makes improvements based on what schools actually need.
Yes, we would recommend EduCore to another school, particularly a school that wants to reduce reliance on manual records and have better visibility of its day-to-day operations. However, we would advise any school to first understand its own needs and then see how the system fits those requirements.
Mr. Andrew Murage, Principal, Gititu High School
The answers above are the principal's own, quoted exactly and published with his written approval. They describe one school's experience so far: Gititu High School is still onboarding students and migrating its records, which it expects to complete in about a month. The school has asked that figures from its live system not be treated as its actual figures, so this case study contains none, and EduCore is not claiming a measured time saving. Results vary by school. To see how the same areas work, read our guides to M-Pesa fee collection and student performance appraisal.
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