5 Need and Objectives of Education Management

Contents

1.       Objectives

2.       Concept of education management

3.       Need of educational management

4.       Objectives of educational management

1.      Objectives

At the end of the module, the learner will be able to-

• Explain the concept of education management
• Describe the need of educational management
• Identify the objectives of educational management

2.      Concept- Education Management

Educational institutions operate in a dynamic environment. They therefore must constantly identify and implement improvements in their own setup. Educational Management is concerned with the internal operations of educational institutions.

The origin of the development of educational management as a field of study began in the United States in the early part of the twentieth century. Development in the United Kingdom came as late as the 1960’s. Educational management, as the name implies, operates in educational institutions.

• Education: Education is a provision of series of learning experiences to students in order to impart knowledge, attitude and skills with the ultimate goal of making them productive members of the society.
• According to Henry Fayol “To manage is to forecast and plan, to organize, to command, to co-ordinate, and to control.”

Fayol described management as a process of five functions such as planning, organizing, commanding, coordinating and controlling.

Thus, educational management is defined as that type of management which helps in the process of planning, organizing, directing and controlling the activities of an institution utilizing the human and material resources optimally to accomplish the functions of education in teaching, extension work and research.

Hence, educational management deals with the institutions (schools- colleges), human resources (Teaching and non- teaching staff, students, parents and other stake holders), Material resources (Infrastructure, equipment’s etc.), rules, regulations, policies, society etc. It helps to fulfill the educational goals and objectives.

3. Need of educational management

To continue and endure the changes brought in the educational system as a result of change in the Government in a democratic country like India it is necessary to have a proper management system in place to utilize the available resources. The educational institutions today are found to be too much in control of the regulatory bodies, examination and certification process. The management of education is needed to look into these aspects.

•  The system of education needs to be more dynamic to provide the society with human resources that has specialized expertise and skills, values, attitudes, professional ethics so as to sustain and enhance the national development.
•   The purpose of educational management at institutional level is to create a congenial environment for attainments of the aims and objectives of educational system. The institution should have such an environment which will keep the staff motivated and cheerfully willing to do the job we want them to do. Proper face to face communication will help to have better relationship among the members of the institution.
• To make educational system more proactive by applying the techniques of management. The individuals involved in the process should be provided with adequate facilities for reaching the highest levels of achievement and for improving the professional growth to the maximum. In order to be effective and efficient, an educational institution has to ensure that there are right type of people with the right skills, in the right place and at the right time for carrying out the various jobs and services.
• The knowledge of management will help to bring a qualitative change in the education system. With time, the needs and the goals of the society keep on changing. It is important for the education system to stay in tune with the needs of the society and bring changes in its system for betterment of the society.
• To prepare the teachers to become efficient leaders and managers. Inherently, teachers have good command over their subject and are able to handle it well. But when it comes to other roles like being a manager, leader they are not so efficient in performing these roles. Thus, by training the teachers to manage and lead the group will add to their performance.
• The education managers require specialized training to handle the admission process in today’s competitive world.
• It is important to use scarce and dwindling resources optimally.
• We need to have a forward look planning for our education system at institutional level.
• To have more elite educational institutions in our country.
• The relationship between the school and the community has to be maintained for better progress of the nation. This can be best strengthened by the teachers who are the change agents of the society.
• To make the curriculum more relevant to life and needs of the changing society so as to realize the national goals.

4. Objectives of educational management

• Helps in achievement of institutional objectives: Educational management brings all the components of an educational programme into harmonious and fruitful relationship for the purpose of successfully achieving the underlined objectives. It helps to satisfy the individual goals of employees with the overall goals of the institution.

• To improve planning, organizing and implementing: Planning and controlling helps in better efficiency and needs to be taken care of at all levels in the institution. It helps in reducing the wastage of resources and brings order in the working of an institution. It is proactive rather than passive. Planning asks the following questions: What? When? Where? By whom? How? Planning includes the following a series of steps:

Defining Objectives (setting objectives or goals)

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Determining the current status with respect to the objectives (being aware of opportunities)

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Determining planning premises (analyzing the situation for external factors and forecasting future trends; generation of future scenarios)

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Identifying alternative (best alternative to accomplish the objectives)

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Choosing an alternative (selecting the course of action to be pursued)

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Formulating support plans (arranging for human and material resources)

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Implementing the plan (action stage which also involves evaluation)

Thus planning should be flexible. There should be enough scope to change in any unforeseen circumstances like availability of equipment’s and grants as expected. Organizing helps to create a better coordination among the various departments of an institution. It is the combination of necessary human and material resources coming together in a systematic and organized manner to achieve the desired results. The growth of an institution greatly depends upon how effortlessly and competently the activities are carried out.

• Creating and maintaining a good public image of the institution: The mushrooming of educational institutions makes it imperative to create and maintain good image in the public as people today are more conscious of the brands and expect quality work for the money spent. The same philosophy is applied in the educational institutions. Bad public image may lead to less admissions.
• Maximum utilization of human and material resources: There institutions who always face the dearth of teaching and non-teaching staff. In such situations, managing the available human resources becomes very crucial. The planning for spending the money, proper budgeting, and getting the optimum out of the finances available is one of the major aspects of the educational institutions. The quality of the equipment’s purchased and its maintenance has to be managed regularly.
• Enhancing the efficiency of the institution: Survival in today’s competitive world necessitates to maintain and enhance the efficiency of the institution. Thus proper controlling is necessary which will be possible by combining the work which individuals or groups have to perform with facilities necessary for its execution such that the duties performed provide the best channels for efficient, systematic, positive and co-ordinated application of available effort. Controlling involves measuring and monitoring performance in accordance with plans and taking corrective action when required. It establishes performance standards based on the objectives, measures, and reports actual performance compares the two and takes corrective or preventive action as necessary. Thus, controlling indicates the degree of goals achieved, the extent of deviation from actual plans, generates accurate information and requisite feedback. Thus controlling focuses upon the difference between planned and actual performance. Controlling is needed in Institutional Budget (finance in terms of income and expenditure), Institutional Supplies (stationery and material equipment), Library (maintenance and up gradation), Teaching-learning Process, Accounts and School Records and Discipline (staff and students).
• Prevents duplication of work: Specific duties need to be assigned to each and every unit in the institution so that there is no replication of the work done and at the same time proper utilization of time and energy. Activities are assigned to different people who are specialists in that area, so as to improve efficiency.
• To manage interpersonal conflicts among the members: Usually, it is observed when people work as a team in the initial phase there happens to be some conflicts among the members with respect to their opinions and working style. Such conflicts if not resolved at the right time may lead to loss of productivity.
• To understand the roles and responsibilities: Allocation of tasks is an important aspect of the educational management to ensure that the right person is in the right place. Proper roles and responsibilities will lead to less stress and chaos among the staff.
• Job Satisfaction: By the end of the day one of the most important aspect for any employee is job satisfaction. If the employee is not satiated with the work environment and the rewards will definitely not look forward.

Educational management helps to enable the right pupil to receive right education from the right teachers at an affordable cost and take advantage by their learning experiences. It is being mainly a human endeavor should be properly planned without emphasizing the rigid application of mechanical and physical principles. It is fundamentally a social organisation where inter human relationships must play a major role. For success of educational management, there must be adequate freedom and flexibility on the one hand and necessary discipline and decorum on the other hand in the educational institution.

References

• Deshmukh, A.V. & Naik, A.P. (2010).Educational Management, Mumbai: Himalaya Publishing House.
• Kochhar, S.K. (1970). Secondary School Administration, New Delhi: Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd.
• Pandya, S.R. (2006). Administration and Management of Education, Mumbai: Himalaya Publishing House.