How to Increase School Admissions in India: A Comprehensive Guide

The Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE+) report for 2021-22 reveals that India has 14,89,115 schools across primary, secondary, and senior secondary levels, catering to a student population of 26,52,35,830. While this data suggests overall growth in student enrollment, many schools still struggle to attract and retain students.

If your school is experiencing stagnation or declining admissions, it’s crucial to rethink and enhance your admission strategies. This guide provides actionable insights to help you increase school admissions and effectively market your school to prospective parents and students.

Strategies to Increase Student Enrollment at Your School

There are many strategies to help enroll more students in school from putting up hoardings across the city to renovating the school to garner the attention of parents. Here are 5 best strategies your school can try out to increase enrollments:

(I) Highlight the Quality of Education

One of the key factors influencing school selection is the perceived quality of education. Schools that focus on ensuring students grasp concepts deeply, rather than relying on rote learning, tend to stand out. Offering a holistic learning experience can significantly enhance a school’s appeal.

Here are some tips that will help schools answer positively to these questions:

1. A good student-teacher ratio

A good student-teacher ratio assures the parents that the teacher can take care of everyone in a class and give equal attention.This becomes especially crucial in the early stages of education, where personalised attention helps ensure effective learning and retention. 

This retention of basic concepts also affects the state of the child’s learning as he moves towards higher education which is why a good student-teacher ratio is crucial when it comes to education.

2. Making use of the latest technology

There’s a rise in digital adoption when it comes to the education sector. The pandemic has even encouraged this shift when children started learning concepts like gravity, chemical reactions, and even difficult high-level concepts like kinematics through videos. 

While there’s an ever-increasing need for schools to have computers, the internet, and video conferencing, the sad reality is in India only 39% of schools have access to computers.

3. Holistic development

The adage “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” holds true . With increasing competition, good grades no longer cut it. A school that is successful in not only imparting high-level education but also developing the child in areas of sports, art, and culture is the need of the hour. For that, the school should conduct annual social functions, daily fitness sessions, weekly dance or art sessions.

4. Quality of teaching

Having great technology and a good student-teacher ratio is great. But will it matter if the quality of teaching is poor? 

Schools need to have a strict recruiting process that considers not just the teacher’s degree but also their teaching skills and participation in various research papers and publications. Schools can also organise an annual session where teachers are kept updated on the changes in the edtech sector, different ways of teaching, and so on.

5. Student counseling

Not all students learn in similar ways and not everyone’s growing environment is the same. It’s so important for schools to recognise this and provide psychological counseling that students can turn to when they feel too stressed or are undergoing a difficult situation. 

This could be tweaked to weekly sessions where the counsellor can listen to students’ struggles and suggest approaches to deal with the same, followed by meditation, mindfulness practice, etc.

(II) Modernise The Infrastructure

Studies prove that the quality of school infrastructure has a significant effect on drop-out rates and school attendance. Think about it. Wouldn’t a parent be more likely to send their child to a school that is newly renovated, has Smart TVs for better learning and hygiene maintenance to ensure their child doesn’t get infected?

Here are some ways schools can modernise their infrastructure:

1. Have a well-equipped library

This doesn’t just include books. Today’s libraries should consist of various video faculties where students can learn different concepts through simulation. This encourages the students towards self-learning and exploration, which could be essential in their growing years when curiosity to learn things is at an all-time high. A well-equipped library can also be a great place for students to hold interactive sessions and exchange knowledge with their peers.

2. Sports facilities

With more and more diseases and illnesses on the rise, staying fit and healthy is the key. A school that doesn’t have an adequate playground where children can play, and access other sports activities like swimming, tennis, skating and basketball court can tarnish reputation easily. On the other hand, if a student does have adequate sports facilities, parents wouldn’t have to go through the hassle of enlisting their children in sports activities outside of the school.

3. Smart Classroom Technology

There are many informative videos, TV series, and documentaries that are being made today. Students would be better able to learn and understand concepts with the help of
smart TVs in classrooms. And what’s more? It would act as a fun learning experience for them. And did you know? Children can learn a lot by just watching cartoons as well. They learn essential communication skills and develop confidence due to it. Replace these cartoons with informational videos and think about the benefits they could bring to children.

4. Science laboratories

Fully-equipped and well-designed laboratories can be a great way for students to carry out physics, biology, and chemistry experiments and learn by practice. These practicals could be conducted in conjunction with the theory lectures and increase the probability of children understanding difficult science concepts.

5. Comfortable seating and ventilated classrooms

Children spend most of their school hours in the classrooms, and thus, these classrooms should be well ventilated and have comfortable seating. Studies have shown that students perform better when fresh air is properly circulated in the classroom.

(III) Leverage Digital Marketing

Digital marketing is a powerful tool for boosting school admissions. In today’s internet-driven world, schools must establish a strong online presence to stay competitive. 

By leveraging digital marketing, schools can create a robust online portfolio that enhances visibility and attracts more students. Effective digital marketing for schools includes:

1. Creating a great website experience

Just having a website isn’t enough. It should adhere to the design standards of today and have compelling content as well. For example, just a small introduction to your school won’t cut it. You need to showcase why your school is different from the others, the achievements you have managed to garner, the level of education you offer, and so on.

You might need to redesign your entire website if it’s outdated or isn’t mobile-friendly. Wondering why? Because 52.2% of all website traffic
is generated from mobile phones. If your website isn’t mobile-friendly, visitors will bounce off to your competitors’ sites.

2. Set Up a Google My Business Profile for Your School

Google My Business is a platform designed for local businesses to list their information for local searchers. Schools can use this tool to create profiles and appear on the search engine results page (SERP) for local audiences.

3. Start a blog

Schools that maintain a blog receive 55% more website visitors compared to those that do not. Why is this the case? Because blogs are a great way to portray your expertise and get discovered by new audiences.

Blogs can drive traffic and showcase your school’s expertise. Share valuable content related to education and school life to engage parents and attract prospective students.
For example, let’s say you have published an informative article on the topic “How to ensure your child retains 90% of what they learn at school”. Suppose 5 parents read this article and shared it with 5 others. These parents may again reshare it in their circle. Do you see a chain here? This gets more traffic on your blog and results in more enrollment to your school.

4. Have a well-developed search engine strategy

Every school’s search engine strategy should focus on these three aspects: SEO (Search Engine Optimization), Online Review Management, and Pay Per Click Advertising (PPC).

Why is this important, you may ask?

75% of Internet users never scroll past the first page of search results. This means that if you want your school’s website or advertisements to pop up frequently, you’ll need to focus on all the above to improve your search engine ranking.

• Search Engine Optimization: This consists of a set of practices like keyword research and implementation, writing audience-friendly content, and so on to help a website or piece of content like your school’s blog post rank higher on Google.
• Online review management: Why would parents put their trust in your school? Your recommendation may be biassed. That’s why monitoring and managing online reviews of different parents is so important. It’s a source most of us deem to be reliable and trustworthy.
• Pay Per Click Advertising: What if you don’t want to spend too much time to get your website on page 1 of Google? Advertisements are a powerful way to help generate more awareness and bring more traffic to your school’s website. 

5. Have a presence on social media

If there’s something that all parents must be using today, it’s social media. Not to have a presence there would be missing a golden opportunity. Just a single viral social media post could help your school reach more parents and thus help increase admissions. Make sure to regularly update these accounts and stay connected with your audience.

Recommended Download: A Comprehensive Guide to School Marketing

(IV) Implement Offline Marketing Tactics

Just a digital marketing strategy wouldn’t be enough. You have to target parents who might not be making use of social media or aren’t accustomed to the different digital channels yet.

Here’s a list of several offline marketing steps you can inculcate for this group of people:

1. Hoardings/banners at relevant places

If there’s one form of advertisement that will never grow old, it’s this one. People stuck in traffic jams or walking through certain places are bound to take notice of these banners. The retention rate of these adverts is also often high which means that putting it up at places where parents are bound to read them can work wonders for your school. Some of these places can be road intersections, kindergartens, playhouses, and so on.

2. Ads in local newspapers

You can target a certain demographic with this offline marketing strategy. For example, if your school is in a certain area, it would make more sense to publish your advert in just the newspapers that are popular in that area/town. You can even choose to print these adverts in the local language and English both to cater to all kinds of audiences living in the said demographic.

3. Reporting of school activities to print media

Did someone from your school get selected in a national-level tournament? Did you host an annual function that was loved by the parents and all the guests? Did you host a defence workshop for all the children present in a certain grade? 

All of these activities could turn into promotions for your school if you publish them in print media. When your school’s name starts coming up in various newspapers and publications often in the form of the events organised and achievements garnered, awareness may grow and this brand recall will help motivate future enrollments.

(V) Connect with parents of existing students

This can be a goldmine when it comes to marketing your school. By connecting with the parents of existing students and providing a good experience, you can trigger the power of word-of-mouth marketing.

How effective can it be?

A study indicates that 85% of parents trust and value recommendations from other parents when choosing a school for their children, which is 25% higher than those who rely on general online reviews.
Here are five ways a school can help build connections with parents:

1. Foster Strong Parent-Teacher Relationships

Have a parent-teacher meeting at the start of the year. Encourage the teacher to share information about themselves and what they have planned for the year. Allow the parents to voice their recommendations and suggestions. This sets the tone for an open exchange of ideas and discussions for the entire year which in turn helps build a better connection between the parents and the teacher.

2. Share school experiences

So many times, when the parent asks their child, “How was your day at school?”, the only response they receive is, “Fine!” When teachers go out of their way to tell parents the experiences their children are having at school, it bridges the missing gap for the parents and helps them stay updated. Teachers could do this by asking students to contribute to a weekly or monthly newspaper by sharing their experiences in the form of essays, poems, or even art.

3. Aim for personalisation

Not every parent might have the same requirement. In such a scenario, you can ask the teacher to hold a personal session for every set of parents spanning over a month or two months. 
Here parents and teachers could talk about the child’s strengths and weaknesses, what type of support system the child has at home, what changes can be made in their daily routine, and so on. This helps build a strong connection with the parents and when parents are assured that the school is motivated to see the child’s progress as much as they are, these experiences can trigger word-of-mouth easily.

4. Share positives as well

It’s common for parents to receive communication only when the child makes a mistake or to inform on daily updates such as homework assignments, upcoming activities and events, and so on. 
In such a scenario, parents start dreading that call home because they expect bad things only. By sharing positives as well, like calling or emailing the parents when their child is exceptionally helpful in class or does a great job at a particular subject, can do wonders for the teacher-parent relationship. The parents would also be more likely to pay attention to the teacher when an issue pops up.

5. Create shareable content for parents

The best way to boost word-of-mouth marketing is to create content that the parents would love to share with their family or on social media. 

For example, teachers could share updates about how children organized an event, a child winning a competition or small contest in class, a child posing as a volunteer to help others out, and so on. Parents would likely share this information and this praise would even go on to encourage children.  

Conclusion