Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s)

Affiliation

Q Which Education Board would the School be affiliated to?

A Indian Education Boards such as the CBSE and ICSE are the most popular. Of late the CBSE has improvised its curriculum with new and innovative structural changes, such as the CCE (Continuous & Comprehensive Evaluation).

Infrastructure

Q How much land area is required for a School?
A As per the CBSE norms, a land area of 1 acre is required if the School is in a metro area, a land area of 2 acres is required for a school in non-metro areas.  However, a land area of 5 acres or greater would be preferred as it would be able to support playgrounds for children.

Q How much built up area would be required for the School?
A The School would need a built up area of about 80,000 square feet to 1,00,000 square feet.  This can however vary to some extent based on the targeted student strength.  New areas can be constructed at a later stage as well, provided there are ample land areas and the structural design and construction quality allows for it.

School Operations

Q How will the School be managed?
A DPSGS will play an integral role in assisting with the management of the Partner School.
It will assist the Partner School with issues around Affiliations and Approvals, Academic and Non-Academic operations, Building Designs and Infrastructure planning, Asset and Equipment planning, Debt Raising, Human Resource Development, Teacher Training, Principal and Leadership Training, Legal and Regulatory, Admissions and Marketing, Financial Systems and Technology Implementation.

Admissions

Q What will be the school strength?
A Optimum planned school strength should be in the range of 2,000 to 3,000 students.  Overcrowded Schools are not able to offer personalized attention to the students.

Capital

Q What will be amount of capital required for this School project?
A An estimated amount of about 15 Crores would be required to be brought in as a mix of Debt & Equity for a new school.  However, this can vary a little bit, based on the cost of construction realized at the site.  The remaining project cost would be funded by internal accruals.

Financial Viability

Q When does the School achieve breakeven?
A A branded school should reach a positive operating margin (EBTIDA) very quickly, probably by or before the 2nd year.

Legal & Regulatory

Q What structure should be used to operate and manage the School?
A The School would be managed under a non-for-profit entity, either a Trust or a Society.  An understanding of the legal structures and the benefits and concerns of each of these structures in the context of the objectives of the promoter will be essential to choosing the appropriate structure for managing the school.

Q Will Right to Education Act 2009 (RTE) impact the School?
A Yes, the Right to Education 2009 Act (RTE) will impact the functioning of the School.  A holistic understanding of the RTE and its implications would be essential to managing the School such that it performs academically and becomes a financially viable.