Post the pandemic, virtual learning has emerged as a new reality across the global educational landscape. And numbers prove this choice is much more than an exigency solution!
In India, starting an online school is a lucrative opportunity!
India’s eLearning market is already worth $3 billion. But the best news comes from the tier 2 and 3 cities. These are all set to witness a further 20% increase in their growth rates by 2024 (compared with 32% growth in demand in 2023).
After these promising statistics, let’s start with the information part.
Stay with us!
What is an Online School?
While a physical school operates through a brick-and-mortar building, an online school virtually carries out all these processes. An online learning platform connects students with the school. The entire instructional delivery takes place via the Internet.
These schools have dedicated teaching and non-teaching staff members for real-time interactions, data management, monitoring, and other purposes. A k12 online school formally offers learning through synchronous (student-teacher interactions) and asynchronous opportunities (self-study duration). To attend an online class, students must log in through the online platform at a pre-decided time and attend the class.
Is an Online School Legal in India?
A report published in The Times of India states that a formally recognized or accredited online school is ideally like a physical school. If a virtual school offers the NIOS curriculum, it is 100% legal. Similarly, curriculums derived from accredited online schools are also valid in India.
Let’s jump to the steps to start a virtual learning platform now.
Steps to Start an Online School
Understanding and Market Analysis
For a sustainable business model, you must know the target audience well. Spend some time researching prospects and enrollments. Know the traits of these students and parents. And figure out what they need from a virtual learning platform.
For instance, 23% of women and 11% of students with special needs registered for an online course in 2023.
Decide the age groups you wish to cover and gauge the prospects of various income groups to understand their chances of online schools admission. Get your blueprint ready and try to take calculated risks (financial investments) at the initial stages.
The Online Learning Platform
You need a virtual learning platform to start an online school in India. This platform must have all features that allow attending online classes, accessing virtual resources (pre-recorded lectures, quizzes, worksheets, etc.), uploading assignments, connecting with teachers (chats or messaging), etc. Some online education providers have dedicated teams to create a full-fledged learning platform. However, there is always an option to reach out and procure an online platform from other providers.
Focus on creating an engaging experience. And look for 3rd party online resource providers to add more USPs.
Curriculum and Content
Choose the curriculum for your online school in India, depending on the target audience. Choices can vary between CBSE, CISCE, and State boards if you wish to introduce an Indian curriculum. Otherwise, International curriculums like International Baccalaureate and Cambridge IGCSE are also legal in India. Once you procure the curriculum, procure the content based on the subjects you wish to offer.
Hiring and Business Model
Before you start with your online school’s admission, get your website up and ready. Integrate all necessary functionalities and upload content. Complete the hiring process.
Once you reach this step, create a marketing strategy with your expert team members. Look for the necessary tools that will help you reduce the manual tasks. Create an outline for the CRM and AI assistants and understand the requirements needed for analytics as you finalise the business model.
Marketing
To target suitable income groups per your pricing plans (for online programs), you must chalk out a strong marketing strategy before commencing the process of online schools admission.
Put your heads together with your teams and derive a marketing plan to drive the audience’s attention. Social media insights are a great support. You can also conduct surveys, run ads or e-mail campaigns, and use Google Analytics software to make a profound impact. Once you start catering to prospects, derive a proper lead segregation process and a source analysis. Plan a couple of webinars, create interactive videos, use paid promotion, press releases, blogs, social media posts, etc. This detailed plan will help you create a strong market presence once you go live.
Get The Tools Ready
If you have software providers, the functionalities of online education can be planned internally. However, many business owners prefer software providers and approach 3rd party vendors for their requirements. A k12 online school requires tools to reduce the human effort in admin-related tasks and data management, tracking tools, analytics software, sales and lead management tools, employee productivity, video conferencing tools, marketing tools, payment gateway, etc.
Assuring Legitimacy
Like any other physical school, an online school in India also requires proper recognition (or accreditation) to assure the parent community of its legitimacy. Prepare your business plan and keep your financial details handy to complete this process. When schools upload their accreditation or recognition details, they tend to attract more prospects during online schools admission.
Testing & Go Live
Your online school will be ready for a testing phase after completing the abovementioned stages. Ensure you keep the testing list and other checklists handy and jot down any feedback from any team members during the testing phase. Address issues (if any) and keep a list of the workable areas handy to work on. Decide the BIG DAY and celebrate with your team members when all this is sorted.
Final Thoughts
Business enthusiasts can easily convert your business idea into a profitable venture by following these simple steps. Create a vision for your online school. And be ready to explore a futuristic option in the Indian educational landscape!
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How do you open an online school?
Understand market trends, decide on target audience and curriculum, procure the learning platform, arrange for software, and get recognition/accreditation.
2. How to make school online?
Start an online school by arranging an online learning platform and securing proper recognition/accreditation. Decide on the subjects, hire staff members, and finalise the curriculum. Arrange the necessary tools and decide your marketing strategy.
3. How to start online schooling for high school
The steps to start an online school are the same for all levels. However, there is a public exam system at the high school level. NIOS and Cambridge also offer the option of appearing as ‘private candidates’.
4. Is online school legal in India?
An accredited online school is 100% legal. Similarly, online schools that operate through the legal open school platform, the NIOS, are also legal.
5. How can I start a small online education business in India?
Start a small virtual learning platform with limited subjects/courses.
6. How to start online school in India
Please find the steps below:
- Understand the target audience
- Decide curriculum
- Learning portal
- Business model
- Marketing strategy
- Procure software
- Accreditation/recognition
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