CROSS- REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims the priority of the provisional application with serial number 795/CHE/2014 filed on 19 February, 2014 postdated by one month to 19 March, 2014 with title, "SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR EDUCATION MANAGEMENT" and the contents of which is incorporated in entirety.
A) TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] The present invention is generally related to educational institution management system and particularly related to an integrated education management system and method. The present invention is more particularly related to an efficient, affordable and an effortless education management system that facilitates communication between main stake holders of any educational institution i.e. staff, students and parents.
B) BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Education is very important in the present century, especially higher education. In addition to formal educational institutions such as primary school, secondary school, and university, there are also other educational institutions, such as education centre, community college etc. In this computer century, an information and management system is very common in school. Appropriate use of these systems reduces the workload and increase the work efficiency.
[0004] The administration of educational institutions is a tough and demanding one. It needs huge budgets for maintaining the student records in traditional formats which involves a great deal of tedious processes. With a growing number of students in the institutions, more tasks are to be performed with limited resources. It is also time consuming and prone to human errors when the tasks are done manually. But retrieving a particular data is pretty grueling and taxing thing.
[0005] Hence there is a need for an integrated education system to computerize the manually operated education system and reduce the time consumption. Further there is also need for adopting smart education process management tools inevitably to increase an efficiency and quality of education.
[0006] The above mentioned shortcomings, disadvantages and problems are addressed herein and which will be understood by reading and studying the following specification.
C) OBJECT OF THE INVENTION
[0007] The primary object of the present invention is to provide an integrated education management system and method for providing suitable interfaces to the users to simplify and reduce the time needed for information and procedure management relating to different institutional activities.
[0008] Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a web-based education management system for providing better interaction between the students, teachers, parents and management.
[0009] Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an admission management method for managing, controlling and tracking of entire admission process of a student.
[0010] Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a fee management method for managing the financial activities of the educational institution.
[0011] Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an attendance management method for tracking attendance records of each staff and student for any given period of time.
[0012] Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an examination and evaluation management method for scheduling and conducting examinations and for analyzing the results of examination.
[0013] Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a time table management method for creating and maintaining time table according to various classes and subjects within the institution.
[0014] Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an inventory management method for maintaining warehouse needs and managing the stocks of goods.
[0015] Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a hostel management method for maintaining records of the hostel facility.
[0016] Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a cafeteria management method for tracking purchase, sales and due records of the cafeteria.
[0017] Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a library management method for searching, assigning, cataloging and circulating the library related articles.
[0018] Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a staff management method for managing payroll and time table and for tracking the attendance and performance of both teaching and non-teaching staff.
[0019] Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a transportation management method for managing student's pick-up vehicles, staff driver allotments and tracking the routes covered by the vehicles.
[0020] Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an account management method for bookkeeping, maintaining security and efficiency of the institution.
[0021] These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
D) SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0022] The various embodiments of the present invention provide an integrated management system and method for educational institutions. The system comprises an admission management module, a fee management module, an
attendance management module, a time-table management module, an exam management module, an inventory management module, a hostel management module, a cafeteria management module, a library management module, a staff management module, a transport management module and an account management module. The admission management module is configured to control an admission process for a plurality of students. The fee management module is configured to manage a fee payment and documentation process for the plurality of students.
The attendance management module is configured to maintain a track on the attendance of the plurality of students and staff. The time-table management module is configured to plan and customize a time-table routine for the plurality of students and staff. The exam management module configured to schedule, conduct and evaluate a plurality of examinations for the plurality of students. The inventory management module is configured to manage an inventory available at a warehouse of the educational institution.
The hostel management module is configured to administrate a residential facility provided at the educational institution for the plurality of students and staff. The cafeteria management module is configured to supervise the functioning of a cafeteria in the educational institution. The library management module is configured to assign, catalog, search, and circulate a plurality of library resources of the educational institution.
The staff management module is configured to manage and monitor a plurality of activities of the teaching staff and the non-teaching staff. The transport management module configured to plan, schedule and allocate a plurality of transportation facility to the students and staff members. The account management module configured to book-keep a plurality of financial aspects of the institutional operation.
[0023] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the admission management module registers a particular student by receiving a filled admission application form. The module enrolls the shortlisted student for admission by issuing a login ID and an identity card for authentication of the student.
[0024] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the fee management module is configured to maintain a comprehensive record of dues/receipts and accordingly report the fee defaults/excesses credited by the student. The module sends an e-receipt to the students and/or parents on the reception payment of fees. The module transmits an e-reminder for a pending payment of fees.
[0025] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the attendance management module comprises an identity scanner for identifying a particular student/staff member and recording an attendance of the respective student/staff member.
[0026] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the identity scanner is an ID card scanner configured to receive the identity proof from the student/staff member. The identity scanner is a biometric scanner configured to identify a plurality of physiological characteristics of the student/staff member and authenticate the presence of the respective student/staff member.
[0027] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the attendance management module further comprises a leave management module configured to manage an approval and rejection of a plurality of leave applications from the students and staff. The leave management module is configured to track the number of leaves taken by an individual in the staff and balances leave availability to the individual staff. The leave management module further adjusts the management of the classes and the courses on a day based on the availability of the staff on a day.
[0028] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the time table management module provides integrated planning for a plurality of classes for an academic session by considering a total number of working hours available, course syllabus and number of subjects, faculty available, and optional subjects. The time­table management module creates builds a timetable and schedules a subject for a particular staff member. The time table management module performs automatic or manual creation of timetable.
[0029] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the exam management module is configured to plan an exam time table, prepare a plurality of question papers, schedule and conduct a plurality of examinations, evaluation of the answer papers, generate reports for the performance of the plurality of student in the exam and analyze the performance of a teacher by considering the performance of the students under the specific teacher.
[0030] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the inventory management module comprises a purchase management module configured to create a detailed entry of every purchased item in the inventory.
[0031] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the inventory management module comprises a sales management module configured to maintain a record on the sales of the inventory item.
[0032] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the inventory management module comprises a stock transfer management module reports on stock movement between a plurality of departments and a central inventory.
[0033] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the inventory management module is interfaced with the barcode/RFID tags. The inventory management module maintains a customer database for storing an inventory data. The inventory data comprises information pertaining to purchased items, sold items, items transferred between the departments and quotations received from a plurality of vendors.
[0034] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the hostel management module keeps track on vacancies of a plurality of rooms in the residential facility and allots a plurality of empty rooms to the students/staff members. The hostel management module is configured to monitor an entrance and an exit of the hostel for tracking the movements in and out of the residency.
[0035] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the cafeteria management module is configured to identify, account and maintain the sales and payment information of the staff, students and guests in the cafeteria of the educational institution. The cafeteria management module generates a plurality of health reports based on a menu, date-wise/item-wise sales, dues and payments to the cafeteria.
[0036] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the library management module comprises an Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC) database for maintaining the information on the plurality of library resources. Each of the library resources is provided with an integrated identity.
[0037] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the library management module receives invoices for the library resources, classifies and indexes the library resources, circulates and receives the plurality of resources to the students and staff members. The library management module tracks the resources lent to the students and the staff members.
[0038] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the staff management module organizes a plurality of schedules for the staff members, assigns a plurality of tasks to the staff members and tracks the performance and attendance of the staff members. The staff management module maintains a database on the information related to the plurality of staff members.
[0039] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the staff management module further comprises a payroll management module configured to maintain information on a salary payment of the staff members. The information on the salary payment comprises details on a basic salary structure, a bonus amount and a deduction amount and one or more loans taken by the staff members.
[0040] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the transport management module provides route management and optimization feature. The transport management module maintains information on an availability of a vehicle, a route setting and a student conveyance. The transport management module calculates distance run, expenses incurred and fare settings for the respective vehicle. The transport management module further manages allocation of a driver and a helper to a particular vehicle.
[0041] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the account management module is configured to track the plurality of financial aspects of the educational institutional including cash flow, inventory control and account payment of the educational institution.
[0042] The various embodiments of the present invention provide a method for managing an educational institution. The method comprises the steps of managing an admission process and registering a plurality of students to the educational institution; configuring fee types, fee frequencies, late fees, concessions, scholarships, and installments; generating an individual student level fee-card; recording an
attendance for the plurality of students and staff members, and keeping track on a plurality of absentees; preparing a plurality of timetable for the plurality of students and staff; scheduling and conducting a plurality of exams; evaluating a performance the plurality of students in the exams and producing report cards; managing an entry of a plurality of inventory items to a warehouse and managing stocks quantities of the inventory items; administrating a residential facility provided at the educational institution for the plurality of students and staff; supervising the functioning of a cafeteria in the educational institution; assigning, cataloging, searching, and circulating a plurality of library resources of the educational institution; managing and monitoring a plurality of activities of a teaching staff and a non-teaching staff; planning, scheduling and allocating a plurality of transportation facilities to the students and staff members; and book-keeping a plurality of financial aspects of the institutional operation.
[0043] These and other aspects of the embodiments herein will be better appreciated and understood when considered in conjunction with the following description and the accompanying drawings. It should be understood, however, that the following descriptions, while indicating the preferred embodiments and numerous specific details thereof, are given by way of illustration and not of limitation. Many changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the embodiments herein without departing from the spirit thereof, and the embodiments herein include all such modifications.
E) BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0044] The other objects, features and advantages will occur to those skilled in the art from the following description of the preferred embodiment and the accompanying drawings in which:
[0045] FIG.l illustrates a functional block diagram of an integrated education management system, according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0046] FIG.2 illustrates a flowchart indicating an administration management method in the integrated education management system, according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0047] FIG.3 illustrates a flowchart indicating a fee management method of the education management system, according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0048] FIG.4 illustrates a flowchart indicating an attendance management method of the education management system, according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0049] FIG.5 illustrates a flowchart indicating a timetable management method of the education management system, according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0050] FIG.6 illustrates a flowchart indicating an exam management method of the education management system, according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0051] FIG.7 illustrates a flowchart indicating an inventory management method of the education management system, according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0052] FIG.8 illustrates a flowchart indicating a hostel management method of the education management system, according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0053] FIG.9 illustrates a flowchart indicating a library management method of the education management system, according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0054] FIG.10 illustrates a flowchart indicating a staff management method of the education management system, according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0055] FIG.ll illustrates a flowchart indicating a transportation management method of the education management system, according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0056] FIG.12A and FIG.12B jointly illustrate a flowchart indicating the steps involved in the method of managing an education institution, according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0057] Although the specific features of the present invention are shown in some drawings and not in others. This is done for convenience only as each feature may be combined with any or all of the other features in accordance with the present invention.
F) DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0058] In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which the specific embodiments that may be practiced is shown by way of illustration. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the embodiments and it is to be understood that the logical, mechanical and other changes may be made without departing from the scope of the embodiments. The following detailed description is therefore not to be taken in a limiting sense.
[0059] The various embodiments of the present invention provide an integrated education management system and method for educational institution. The education management system and method provides a complete solution for solving the demanding challenges faced by manual administration of an educational institution. The education management system and method combines the evolution of software and the internet for the purpose of improving education by fostering an environment for communication, manage, control and monitoring. The education management system and method is comprehensive web-based portal to provide a better, effective and efficient interaction between the stake holders such as students, teachers, parents and management. The education management system is accessed by the stake holders from anywhere in the world.
The education management system and method provides facilities to keep the records of student, fees, teaching and non-teaching staff with all their required details along with all required transaction handling. The education management provides facilities to generate various types of reports, which are required by the management during normal business operations to operate the business effectively. The education management system and method is easy to use and configure.
[0060] FIG. 1 illustrates a functional block diagram of an integrated education management system, according to an embodiment of the present invention. With respect to FIG. 1, the education management system comprises an admission management module 101 for managing the admission process and registering the students to the institution.
A fee management module 102 is provided for configuring fee types, frequency, late fee, concession, scholarship, installments, etc. An attendance management module 103 is configured for recording an attendance and keeping a track of absentees. A time-table management module 104 is provided for preparing timetable for students and staff. An exam management module 105 is arranged for scheduling and conducting the exams, evaluating a performance of the students in the exam and producing the report cards. An inventory management module 106 for managing the warehouse entries, goods and managing stocks, quantities of goods, and producing official transcript. A hostel management module 107 is provided for assigning residential facilities to the student and staff and monitoring their movements in and out of the hostel. A a cafeteria management module 108 is configured for standardizing and streamlining menu planning, sales and billing.
A library management module 109 is provided for maintaining a database on the resources and media owned by the library, tracking the purchase orders made by the library, and keeping a track of the resources borrowed by the patrons. A staff management module 110 is arranged for managing and monitoring all the activities of the faculty members. A transportation management module 111 is provided for planning, scheduling and faultlessly allocating transportation facility to all the students and staff members. An accounts management module 112 is configured for integrating every aspect of expansive institutional accounting and offering matchless security and efficiency.
[0061] FIG. 2 illustrates a flowchart explaining an admission management method of the education management system, according to an embodiment of the present invention. The education management system comprises an advanced, logical admission management module. In large institutions, student admission process is still performed manually. The admissions office has a lot of detailed data to collect and manage and enrollment contracts to administrate. The admission management modulelOlof the education management system is efficient web-based application software for managing the entire admission process.
The admission management modulelOl divides the entire admission process into at least three modules, namely, a pre-admission module 201 for providing application forms 204 for the students wishing to join the institution; a student admission module 202 for short listing students on various criteria, and allowing shortlisted students for registration and an admission cancel module 203 for cancelling admission for the students on various criteria 205.The student admission module 202 registers/admits 206 the shortlisted students in their chosen classes 208, generate login IDs 209 and assigns roll numbers and issues identity card to the registered students 210. Once admitted, the candidates are intimated via emails/SMS. The admission management module 101 further generates report 211 comprising login IDs details and students information for each student and stores in a database.
[0062] FIG. 3 illustrates a flowchart explaining a fee management method 102 of the education management system, according to an embodiment of the present invention. The fee management module 102 of the education management system provides various options for common and individual fee settings. The education management system of the present invention solves the demanding challenges of seamless streaming of related data effortlessly for the scrutiny of authorized personnel at all times with the fee management module 102.
The fee management module 102 simplifies the often strenuous task of manual fee administration and is also a user-friendly value-addition that boosts the efficiency of any schools, colleges or universities. Apart from aiding financial recording, the fee management module 102 monitors every fee receipt such as old, current, as well as those that need to be issued in the future.
The fee management module 102 provides the functionalities such as but not limited to maintaining a comprehensive record of dues/receipts under relevant heads systematically; reporting fee defaulters/excesses credited; sending e-reminders to the students/parents; providing summary of fees collected at any point of time or over a specified period as well as seamlessly linking it to financial accounting system. The fee management module 102 offers maximum security and confidentiality on the fee related matters.
The fee management module 102 manages records of all types of fees 301 including but not limited to admission fees 302, hostel fees 303, transportation fees 304, library fees 305, penalty/concession fees 306 and the like. The fee management module 102 provides setting options for 301 various fee structures. The fee management 102 also provides a report on class wise and individual fee collection. The fee management module 102 also sets the fine criteria for late fee submission. The fee management module 102 also alters on fees payment reception though mails/SMS 311. The fee management module 102 facilitates the student/parent to make payment 307 for school fees 309 or penalty fees 310 through cash, cheque or credit/debit cards 308.
The fee management module 102 also generates payment related reports, reminders and alerts 312 on daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly basis 317 to individuals 314 or group of students 315 and collection 316. The fee management module 102 also provides customized online payment forms. The fee management module 102 also reports real time updates on dues collected by the staff 313.
[0063] FIG. 4 illustrates a flowchart indicating an attendance management method of the education management system, according to an embodiment of the present invention. Attendance marking and tracking is a strenuous and time consuming task in any academic institution, such as schools, colleges or universities. The process of maintaining the attendance of students and staff manually is a very tedious work and is prone to human errors.
The attendance management module 103 of the education management system effortlessly tracks and manages attendance of students and staff in any situation. The attendance management module 103 is seamlessly integrated with ID card or biometric to automate the attendance marking procedure. Further, web based applications enables tracking time and attendance of the students 401. The attendance management module supports instant alerts/reports409 to parents regarding their wards absence in class. The attendance management module 103 also maintains academic calendar of both students 401 and staff 405 and generates report 409 periodically. The attendance management module 103 facilitates monitoring of an individual's/students attendance 403 and class wise attendance/overall attendance 404.The attendance management module provides an option to define a low-attendance threshold limit and sends an automated notification when the individual's attendance crosses the threshold limit. The attendance management module further comprises a staff leave management module 405 for date wise marking 406 of staff s attendance.
The leave management module sets the leave limits and holidays for the staff. The leave management module provides an option for online application of leave 407. The approval and rejection of leaves are performed online 408 based on the type of leave. The leave management module keeps a track of leave taken by an individual and balances the availability of an individual staff. The attendance management module 103 generates reports 409 comprising students attendance 410, staff attendance 411, attendance evaluation 412 and defaulters list 413.
[0064] FIG. 5 illustrates a flowchart indicating a timetable management method 104 of the education management system, according to an embodiment of the present invention. Timetable creation is an arduous yet mundane task for a schools, colleges or universities.
The timetable management module 104 of the education management system provides various functionalities such as but not limited to planning the class schedule for an academic session (class wise setting) by considering number of classes to be conducted 501, total working hours available (period setting) 504, subject syllabus and number of subjects (subject setting) 502, faculty available (staff setting) 503, optional subjects and many such parameters; creating and maintaining timetable for one or more classes/courses within an institution.
The time table management module 104 is a powerful tool that is able to integrate all the necessary criteria and builds a timetable that optimizes the resources of the institute to the maximum. The timetable management module 104 schedules a subject for a faculty and assigns the number of hours for the same (class wise subject and teacher setting) 505. The timetable management module 104 provides ease of integration with the campus portal/web portal. The timetable management module 104 provides flexibility in combining different classes into one period thus optimizing courses. The timetable management module 104 also provides an option for assigning a substitute teacher (replaced class setting) 508 when assigned faculty is not available (absent staff) 506.
The module 104 is incorporated with a database management system; therefore the information regarding timeslot availability (hour setting) 507, teacher/faculty availability and the like are retrieved easily. The timetable management module 104 provides an option for automatic 511 or manual 510 creation of timetable 509. The authorization for manual editing of the time table is provided to certain authorized staff 513. The time table is prepared according to class wise 512a or course wise 512b or the time table is prepared for whole institution 512c. The students and staff are able to view the time table online 514 by teacher wise 515 and class wise 516.
[0065] FIG. 6 illustrates a flowchart indicating an exam management method of the education management system, according to an embodiment of the present invention. Examination is one of the most important processes in schools, colleges or universities since it provides the metrics to evaluate the students. Examination management involves a broad range of activities starting from scheduling the exam timetables to a creation of assessment reports. The exam/examination management module 105 provides a comprehensive management of examination process/ examination setting 601 in the institution. The exam/examination management module 105 comprises various functionalities for automating the processes by assigning examination master 602 and thereby helping the administrator to save time.
The exam management module 105 helps in main examination setting 603, class examination setting 604 and at the university level to schedule examinations for institutions affiliated to the university. The examination management module 105 of the education management system provides the functionalities such as but not limited to providing question banks 608, scheduling of examination for various subjects 605 and further allows to edit scheduling of examination 606; conducting examination; detailed analyzing of scores, providing graphical/numerical presentation of the scores. The exam management is flexible to conduct exams in the online and offline mode.
The exam management module 105 provides question bank for a subject on basis of chapter-wise (lesson setting) 611, subject-wise (question type) 609, difficulty level-wise (question level) 610. The exam management module 105 allows the faculty to enter question 612, generate question paper 613 and to search question paper 614 within the question bank 608. The exam management module 105 facilitates automatic 616 creation of question paper 617 for a subject.
The exam management module 105 also provides an option to manually 615 create the question paper 617. The exam management module 105 enables shuffling of question papers at the time of examination. The exam management module 105 performs automatic evaluation of the objective questions. The descriptive question answers are viewed and evaluated by teacher/faculty. The exam management module 105 provides an option for the evaluator to stop or resume the evaluation of an examination paper. The examination management module 105 generates reports 618 on marks scored by students on the basis of class-wise/subject-wise/student-wise 621 and 622. The examination management module 105 further allows a faculty to print question 619.
The examination module 105 also provides graphical/numerical evaluation of reports. The score analysis of students' performance is done on the basis of class-wise/subject-wise/student-wise 621 and 622. The exam management module 105 further analyses the performance of a particular teacher/faculty depending on the performance of the students studying under the teacher/faculty. The exam management module 105 also provides an option for an online posting of the exam schedule 607, key answers 620, evaluation status, and results of students and performance analysis of an individual.
[0066] FIG. 7 illustrates a flowchart indicating an inventory management method of the education management system, according to an embodiment of the present invention. The inventory management module 106 at any school, college or university is an essential yet laborious task. The inventory of an institution includes fixed assets like furniture in various buildings, computers and various accessories, laboratory equipments etc. The inventory also includes items in the institution stores where items are sold to students or staff at a subsidized price.
The inventory management module 106 is a flexible and feature-rich inventory tracking module that effortlessly deals with an institution's stock taking and ware housing needs. The inventory management module 106 also monitors the items that are transferred between the various departments of the institute. The inventory management module 106 provides the administrator with the current levels of the entire stock available (inventory setting) 701 with the institute or a particular department in the school, college, university or a group of institutions.
[0067] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the inventory management module 106 further comprises purchase management, sales management, stock transfer management and a list of imperative reports. The inventory management module helps the administrator of inventory to access stock levels (stock details) 708 and add new batches of stock to the existing ones (add/edit details) 707 with respect to inventory type 702. The purchase management module makes detailed entry of every item in the inventory with the commodity name 703 and the commodity bar code 704 and batch number. The inventory management module also provides vendor management and supervision.
The sales management module maintains a customer database for ease of billing of the soled items. The inventory management module also keeps a track on the purchased (purchased details) 705 and soled items from the inventory. The inventory management module 106 of the education management system further provides the functionalities such as but not limited to calculating and assigning sales tax and value added tax; monitoring quotations received from vendors; issuing purchase orders; recording sales of the inventory items; generating the sales report.
The inventory management module 106 provides item wise and batch wise reports on purchase and sales. The stock transfer management reports on stock movement between departments and from central inventory. The inventory management module 106 further provides inventory details 706 and allows administrator to view the current stock details 708. The inventory management module 106 is interfaced with barcode/RFID tags.
[0068] FIG. 8 illustrates a flowchart indicating a hostel management method of the education management system, according to an embodiment of the present invention. The hostel management module 107 involves, a complete task of assigning residential facilities to student and staff and monitoring their movements in and out of the hostel 806. The hostel management module 107 provides hostel settings 801 and maintains information on the number of rooms available in the hostel 802 and capacity of each room 803.
The administrator also has a track on vacancies of hostel rooms 805 and their allotment 804.The hostel management module 107 further keeps track of paid/due fees. The hostel management module 107 is a fully integrated module which efficiently manages the entire residential facility (hostel setting) 801 in the institute. The hostel management module 107 increases the overall security of hostel by implementing the use of biometrics/RFID cards. The student database of the institution is shared with the hostel management module 107.
[0069] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the education management system further comprises a cafeteria management module. The cafeteria management module standardizes and streamlines the menu planning and the restaurant sales and billing. The module is designed specifically to identify, account and maintain the sales and payment information of the staff, students and guests in the cafeteria for an educational institution.’
The sales and billing operations are fully automated and keeps precise track of bills paid and amount due. The cafeteria management module keeps track on entities such as but not limited to cost per meal served, total cost of meal and item wise sales. The module also plans and maintains the food items and their respective costs on the menu of the cafeteria. The Module also generates various reports based on the menu, date/item wise sales, dues and payments to the cafeteria etc. The module is also integrated with the biometric/RFID system.
[0070] FIG. 9 illustrates a flowchart indicating a library management method of the education management system, according to an embodiment of the present invention. Library management in schools, colleges or universities is a complex task involving many hours of cataloguing. The library management team needs to keep a precise track of all library resources and manage the circulation and preservation of the library resources.
The library management module 109 of the present invention is an enterprise resource planning module for a library that provides functionalities such as but not limited to library settings 901 along with categories settings 902, library inventory or stock 903, book information 904, add/edit of library inventory or stock 905 and display of complete library inventory or stock information 906; fine/fees collection 908 comprising fine setting 909 and displaying of fine 910; and reporting 911 of book loss 912; book transaction 913 including daily basis 914 and student/staff wise 915; and book defaulters 916, class wise list 917 and subject wise list 918 of the library items.
The hostel management module 107 comprises maintaining of a database on the resources and media owned by the library 903, tracking of the purchase orders made by the library, and keeping track of the resources borrowed by the patrons. The library management module 109 is designed to assign, catalog, search, and circulate all library collections such as books, CDs, video tapes, DVDs, documents, equipments etc. The library management module 109 further comprises issuing 919 of library items, returning 923 of library items and generating fine, if any, and generating payment receipt 925 and searching 922 of library items; renewal of library items 920; reservation of library items 924 and updation of stocks 921 with respect to the library items.
The library management module 109 further provides options for maintaining information on media entry, author details, publisher details, supplier details etc. 904. The library management module 109 keeps a track of the library circulation data including media issue, return and reservation. The library management module 109 generates reports 911 on late returns and missing/damaged of the library resources and calculates the fine amount. The module also manages fine fee collection 908. The library management module 109 also proves an Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC) which is an online database for maintaining information of materials held within the library. The administrator searches through the library catalog to locate books and other materials.
The library management module 109 of the present invention is an enterprise resource planning module for the library that provides functionalities such as but not limited to ordering, receiving, and invoicing of the library resources; classifying and indexing of the resources 902; circulating and lending of resources to patrons; receiving the resources back from patrons; tracking of magazine and newspaper holdings; and providing public interface to OPAC. The library management module 109 provides each library resource with barcode/smart card integration.
[0071] FIG. 10 illustrates a flowchart indicating a staff management method of the education management system, according to an embodiment of the present invention. The management of teaching or non-teaching staff is crucial and complex part of a school, college or university. The staff management module facilitates managing and monitoring of all activities of the faculty members. The staff management module maintains a database on related information of all the staff members. This module also organizes the schedules of lectures.
The staff management module provides functionalities such as but not limited to organizing the schedules of staff members; assigning subjects to the teaching staff; tracking the leaves taken by the staff members. The staff management module also comprises of a payroll management module 110a which maintains the information on salary payment of all employee. The payroll management module 110a incorporates information on basic salary structure 1001, bonus 1002 and deduction amount 1003 and loans taken by an individual staff.
The payroll management module 110a also tracks the bonuses and deductions made to an individual's salary, and ensures that bonuses and deductions are remitted in a timely manner. The module 110a calculates the bonus amount by considering the performance of the staff and also considering the festive occasions such as Diwali, Christmas etc. The module 110a makes deductions in salary by considering government defined PF/Gratuity/HRA/ESI rules. The payroll management module 110a also generates salary slips 1004 and notifies to all the staff members on the salary payment through mail/SMS 1005.
[0072] FIG. 11 illustrates a flowchart indicating a transportation management module of the education management system, according to an embodiment of the present invention. The transportation management module 111 provides planning, scheduling and faultlessly allocating the transportation facility to all the students and staff members. The transportation management module 111 provides a comprehensive solution to all the transportation issues faced by any school, college or university. The module 111 integrates vehicle availability 1101, route setting 1103; conveyance 1106 of individual student 1107, overall/class 1108 and staff 1109; and calculates trip details like distance run, expense incurred, fare settings etc. The transport management module 111 provides efficient route management and optimization 1103 and location 1104. The module 111 also provides an option for setting transportation fares depending on student/staff/vehicle 1105. The transportation module 111 also configures stage/stop settings for a particular route. The module 111 also manages allocation of driver and helper to a particular vehicle 1102. The transport management module 111 also manages a database on vehicle maintenance, vehicle service details and fuel charges. The transport management module 111 also keeps track on daily expenses of transportation and generated a report-1110.
[0073] FIG. 12A and FIG.12B jointly illustrates a flowchart indicating the steps involved in the method of managing an education institution, according to an embodiment of the present invention. The method comprises the steps of: managing an admission process and registering a plurality of students to the educational institution (1201), configuring fee types, fee frequencies, late fees, concessions, scholarships, and installments and generating an individual student level fee-card (1202), recording an attendance for the plurality of students and staff members and keeping track on a plurality of absentees (1203), preparing a plurality of timetable for the plurality of students and staff (1204), scheduling and conducting a plurality of exams, evaluating a performance the plurality of students in the exams and producing report cards (1205), managing entry of a plurality of inventory items to a warehouse and managing stocks quantities of the inventory items (1206), administrating a residential facility provided at the educational institution for the plurality of students and staff (1207), supervising the functioning of a cafeteria in the educational institution (1208), assigning, cataloging, searching, and circulating a plurality of a library resources of the educational institution 1209), managing and monitoring plurality of activities of a teaching staff and a non-teaching staff(1210), planning, scheduling and allocating a plurality of transportation facilities to the students and staff members(1211), and book-keeping a plurality of financial aspects of the institutional operation(1212).
[0074] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the education management system further comprises an account management module. The account management module is an efficient book-keeping solution that integrates every aspect of expansive institutional accounting under a module and offers matchless security and efficiency of management. The module tracks every financial aspect of the institutional operation including cash flow, inventory control, account payment and other key elements. The module is also configured to generate individual and collective balance sheets and trial balances.
[0075] The foregoing description of the specific embodiments herein will so fully reveal the general nature of the embodiments herein that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments herein without departing from the generic concept, and, therefore, such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. Therefore, while the embodiments herein have been described in terms of preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments herein can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.
[0076] Although the embodiments herein are described with various specific embodiments, it will be obvious for a person skilled in the art to practice the embodiments herein with modifications. However, all such modifications are deemed to be within the scope of the claims.
[0077] It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the embodiments described herein and all the statements of the scope of the embodiments which as a matter of language might be said to fall there between.

CLAIMS

What is claimed is:

1. A management system for an educational institution, the system comprises: an admission management module configured to control an admission process for a plurality of students; a fee management module configured to manage a fee payment and documentation process for the plurality of students; an attendance management module configured to maintain a track on the attendance of the plurality of students and staff; a timetable management module configured to plan and customize a time-table routine for the plurality of students and staff; an exam management module configured to schedule, conduct and evaluate a plurality of examinations for the plurality of students;an inventory management module configured to manage an inventory available at a warehouse of the educational institution; a hostel management module configured to administrate a residential facility provided at the educational institution for the plurality of students and staff; a cafeteria management module configured to supervise the functioning of a cafeteria in the educational institution; a library management module configured to assign, catalog, search, and circulate a plurality of library resources of the educational institution; a staff management module configured to manage and monitor a plurality of activities of the teaching staff and the non-teaching staff; a transport management module configured to plan, schedule and allocate a plurality of transportation facility to the students and staff members; and an account management module configured to book-keep a plurality of financial aspects of the institutional operation.
2. The management system according to claim 1, wherein the admission management module registers a particular student by receiving a filled admission application form, wherein the module enrolls the shortlisted student for admission by issuing a login ID and an identity card for authentication of the student.
The management system according to claim 1, wherein the fee management module is configured to maintain a comprehensive record of dues/receipts and accordingly report fee defaulters/excesses credited by the student, wherein the module sends an e-receipt to the students and/or parents on the reception payment of fees, where the module transmits an e-reminder for pending payment of fees.
The management system according to claim 1, wherein the attendance management module comprises an identity scanner for identifying a particular student/staff member and recording an attendance of the respective student/staff member.
The attendance management module according to claim 1, wherein the identity scanner is a ID card scanner configured to receive the identity proof from the student/staff member, wherein the identity scanner is a biometric scanner configured to identify a plurality of physiological characteristics of the student/staff member and authenticate the presence of the respective student/staff member.
The management system according to claim 1, wherein the attendance management module further comprises a leave management module configured to manage an approval and rejection of a plurality of leave applications from the students and staff, wherein the leave management module is configured to track the number of leaves taken by an individual in the staff and balances an availability of the individual staff.
The management system according to claim 1, wherein the time table management module provides integrated planning for a plurality of classes for an academic session by considering a total number of working hours available, course syllabus and number of subjects, faculty available, and optional subjects, wherein the time-table management module creates builds a timetable and schedules a subject for a particular staff member, where the time table management module performs automatic or manual creation of timetable.
The system according to claim 1, wherein the exam management module is configured to plan an exam time table, prepare a plurality of question papers, schedule and conduct a plurality of examinations, evaluation of the answer papers, generate reports for the performance of the plurality of student in the exam and analyze the performance of a teacher by considering the performance of the students under the specific teacher.
The system according to claim 1, wherein the inventory management module comprises a purchase management module configured to create a detailed entry of every purchased item in the inventory.
The system according to claim 1, wherein the inventory management module comprises a sales management module configured to maintain a record on the sales of the inventory item.
The system according to claim 1, wherein the inventory management module comprises a stock transfer management module reports on stock movement between a plurality of departments and a central inventory.
The system according to claim 1, wherein the inventory management module is interfaced with the barcode/RFID tags, wherein the inventory management module maintains a customer database for storing an inventory data, wherein the inventory data comprises information pertaining to purchased items, sold items, items transferred between the departments and quotations received from a plurality of vendors.
The system according to claim 1, wherein the hostel management module keeps track on vacancies of a plurality of rooms in the residential facility and allots a plurality of empty rooms to the students/staff members, wherein the hostel management module is configured to monitor an entrance and an exit of the hostel for tracking the movements in and out of the residency.
The system according to claim 1, wherein the cafeteria management module is configured to identify, account and maintain the sales and payment information'of the staff, students and guests in the cafeteria of the educational institution, wherein the cafeteria management module generates a plurality of health reports based on a menu, date-wise/item-wise sales, dues and payments to the cafeteria.
The system according to claim 1, wherein the library management module comprises an Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC) database for maintaining the information on the plurality of library resources, wherein each of the library resources is provided with an identity integration.
The system according to claim 1, wherein the library management module receives invoices for the library resources, classifies and indexes the resources, circulates and receives the plurality of resources to the students and staff members, wherein the library management module tracks the resources lent to the students and the staff members.
The system according to claim 1, wherein the staff management module organizes a plurality of schedules for the staff members, assigns a plurality of tasks to the staff members and tracks the performance and attendance of the staff members, wherein the staff management module maintains a database on the information relating to the plurality of staff members.
The system according to claim 1, wherein the staff management module further comprises a payroll management module configured to maintain information on a salary payment of the staff members, wherein the information on the salary payment comprises details on a basic salary structure, a bonus amount and a deduction amount and one or more loans taken by the staff members.
The system according to claim 1, wherein the transport management module provides route management and optimization feature, wherein the transport management module maintains information on an availability of a vehicle, a route setting and a student conveyance, wherein the transport management module calculates distance run, expenses incurred and fare settings for the respective vehicle, wherein the transport management module further manages allocation of a driver and a helper to a particular vehicle.
The system according to claim 1, wherein the account management module is configured to track the plurality of financial aspects of the educational institutional including cash flow, inventory control and account payment of the educational institution.
A method for managing an educational institution, wherein the method comprises the steps of: managing an admission process and registering a plurality of students to the educational institution; configuring fee types, fee frequencies, late fees, concessions, scholarships, and installments and generating an individual student level fee-card; recording an attendance for the plurality of students and staff members and keeping track on a plurality of absentees; preparing a plurality of timetable for the plurality of students and staff; scheduling and conducting a plurality of exams, evaluating performance of the plurality of students in the exams and producing report cards; managing entry of a plurality of inventory items to a warehouse and managing stocks quantities of the inventory items; administrating a residential facility provided at the educational institution for the plurality of students and staff; supervising the functioning of a cafeteria in the educational institution; assigning, cataloging, searching, and circulating a plurality of library resources of the educational institution; managing and monitoring a plurality of activities of a teaching staff and a non-teaching staff; planning, scheduling and allocating a plurality of transportation facilities to the students and staff members; andbook-keeping a plurality of financial aspects of the institutional operation