Student Safety has become a matter of paramount concern in recent times. Not all parents have the time or means to personally drop and pick up their kids from School and are more likely to opt for transport services provided by the educational institution. Youngsters, on the other hand prefer to commute to school / college with their friends. They are free to choose the most comfortable mode of transport such as bikes, cycles, public transport or the School or college bus.

Once out of the safe home environment, students are expected to reach School, attended classes and return home on time. Very often parents and the school authorities come to know about any disruptions in this daily routine, only hours after the actual problem has occurred.

School management systems can help ensure better student safety in many ways. Let’s see how this is achieved by using two key features.

Transport Management

A comprehensive transport management feature enables the Educational Institution to operate safe and secure transport services. The feature facilitates efficient management of school transport by allowing the School to clearly

• Define the different bus routes, stops and timings.
• Map passengers / drivers to each bus.
• Track the bus along the commute at any point in time.
• Ensure that vehicles are in good shape to hit the road.

Tracking the location of the bus is of course possible only if the GPS hardware / device is installed on the vehicle, is fully functional and integrated with the software.

With the entire transport network pre-defined and traceable, any delays, hurdles, mishaps or emergencies during the regular commutes are instantly visible and adequate measures can be taken to address the situation and ensure safety of students and staff aboard the problem-vehicle.

Attendance Management

Smart attendance management proves to be an effective way to track a student’s or staff’s entry and exit from the School premises. Apart from the facility to track time in and time out of the student and staff, the feature also help make note of absence and leave. An integrated SMS option enables automated messages to Parents, each time an entry / exit or absence is recorded.

Some school management systems are integrated with Smart Card readers. Students are provided with Smart ID cards (each tagged with a unique RFID), which are automatically detected by the reader (RFID transponder) installed at the School entrance. Entry and exit of each student / card holder, in real-time, is recognized, recorded into the system and SMS notifications sent to the parents. Attendance details are stored on the Cloud and real-time data accessible to permitted users regardless of location or time. RFIDs if required can also be used track student movement within a vast campus, should the need occur.

Features such as these not only enhance the efficiency of School operations but also offer respite to parents who are always concerned about the safety of their school-going children. Arriving late to or from school or undue leave / absence could prove valuable clues in detecting budding behaviour and psychological problems or falling into bad company.

Timely notifications when students reach the school, leave the campus, or skip classes can help parents watch out for their wards, and also keep a tab on them in case they need to be disciplined.

It is however important to note that these features may come with a price tag as they require specific hardware and latest technology to prove effective.