THE LEVEL OF FAMILIARITY WITH EDUCATION ERP AMONG TEACHERS IN THE NAGPUR AND VIDARBHA REGIONS OF MAHARASHTRA STATE.

Introduction.

Education ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) is an administrative software system designed to help educational institutions manage their resources, including students, staff, and facilities. The system can be used to manage various administrative and academic processes including admissions, enrolment and attendance, grading and reporting.

Education ERP has been implemented in many educational institutions around the world and its benefits have been widely documented. However, the successful implementation of the system depends on the level of familiarity and competence of the end users, especially the teachers who are responsible for the daily use of the system. Maharashtra State has a large and diverse educational system, with a significant number of institutions spread across different regions.

Nagpur and Vidarbha are two of the most populous regions in the state and have a large number of educational institutions. The implementation of Education ERP in these regions could potentially improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the educational system. However, the level of familiarity with the system among teachers in these regions is not well known. This study aimed to fill this gap by investigating the level of familiarity with Education ERP among teachers in the Nagpur and Vidarbha regions.

ERP in Education Institutions Management. ERP software is a performance-enhancing tool for businesses, streamlining their operations and activities. Similarly, educational institutions have to deal with vast amounts of data, and maintaining this information can be a tedious task. From managing exams, admissions, accounts, and staff to procuring school goods, education institutes require digital solutions to handle these tasks efficiently.

The implementation of educational ERP provides all stakeholders with a centralized view of the entire institution in a dashboard. This dashboard provides stakeholders with all relevant information at their fingertips, regardless of time or place. With this tool, teachers can monitor the progress of their students and dedicate more time to actual teaching. Additionally, parents can stay informed about their child's progress, promoting better communication among teachers, parents, and the institution.

The ERP software also makes the admin department more efficient, saving time and streamlining all the institution's processes. Furthermore, it improves the allocation and operation of academic resources, leading to better efficiency.

Key benefits of ERP:

For Management:

Grow business, reduce costs and improve operations.

l By integrating and automating business processes, redundancies are eliminated, accuracy is improved and productivity is increased.

l Departments with interconnected processes can now synchronize their work for faster and better results.

l Improved reporting of real-time data from a single source system. Accurate and complete reports help companies to appropriately plan, budget, and forecast operational health and the organization and interested parties, such as employee satisfaction, faster response rates, and higher accuracy rates.

l The associated costs often decrease as the company operates more efficiently.

l Departments can work better together and share knowledge; A newly synergized workforce can improve productivity and employee satisfaction because employees can better see how each functional group contributes to the organization's mission and vision.

l It also eliminates low-level, manual tasks, allowing employees to focus their time on more meaningful tasks. For learners (Students) As the new generation seeks innovative ways to learn, selecting a smart education system has become crucial. The modern approach to education not only enhances the teaching experience but also improves productivity. Implementing an ERP system in the education sector provides several key benefits, including

Key benefits of the ERP in the education system;

l Efficient communication between parents, teachers, students, and school management.

l This tool strengthens interactions between students and teachers and improves operational efficiency.

l It also allows for the quick sending of updates, alerts, and notifications.

l Furthermore, the online fee management feature provided by the ERP system is secure and safe, making it a reliable option for educational institutions.

Review of Literature.

A 2018 study conducted by Jyoti M. Bhat, Bhavya Shroff, and Rajendra K. Bandi titled "User Perceptions, Motivations and Implications on ERP Usage: An Indian Higher Education Context" revealed that the success or failure of enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementation in higher education institutions is influenced by various factors that have been identified in studies conducted across universities in the US and Australia. However, there is limited research available from a user perspective on ERP implementation in Indian higher education institutions, which have only recently started adopting this technology. Therefore, this study aims to explore the perceptions, motivations, and usage of ERP among employees in Indian higher education institutions and the potential implications for achieving organizational objectives.

In July 2014, Olugbara, Oludayo O., Kalema, Billy Mathias, and Kekwaletswe, Ray M conducted a study titled "Identifying critical success factors: the case of ERP systems in higher education." The study aimed to determine the crucial factors that impact the successful use of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems in higher education institutions. The researchers used a combination of techniques to formally characterize and identify these factors. They identified thirty-seven ERP success factors from the literature and categorized them into four groups: Critical, Active, Reactive, and Inert. This classification of decision factors can assist organizations in identifying their current challenges and making decisions in a more collaborative manner for future projects. The study proposes an alternative approach for decision-makers to consider when one or more factors dominate during the implementation of ERP systems.

In 2011, ALdayel, Abeer I.; Aldayel, Mashael S.; Al-Mudimigh, Abdullah S. did a study on how to make sure an ERP system works well in universities in Saudi Arabia. They looked at what other people had written about ERP systems and tried to find the most important things to make the system work well. They studied an ERP system made by King Saud University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, called Madar.

They found that the most important thing for a successful ERP system was good project management. This study helps people understand how to make ERP systems work well in universities in Saudi Arabia.

Another Study conducted by Paleerat Lakawathana, on the topic "Factors affecting the enjoyment of ERP software learning for non-IT learners" in May 1028, study on why some non-IT students enjoy learning about ERP software more than others. They gave questionnaires to business students who were not studying IT at the Thai-Nichi Institute of Technology. They used a special method called Structural Equation Modelling to test their ideas. They found that three things affect how much people enjoy learning about ERP software: how much they believe in themselves, how the teacher teaches, and the learning environment. They found that only how much the student believes in themselves really affects how much they enjoy learning. But the teacher's teaching style can indirectly affect how much they enjoy learning by making the students believe in themselves more. Methods.

The study was conducted through a survey of 27 teachers and Administrative staff from various educational institutions in the Nagpur and Vidarbha regions. The sample was selected using a convenience sampling technique, and the data was collected using a structured questionnaire. The questionnaire was developed based on a review of the literature and included questions on demographics, level of familiarity with Education ERP, and perceptions of the system. The responses were collected using an online survey tool and analyzed using descriptive statistics, and ANOVA. Results.

The results of the study indicated that the level of familiarity with Education ERP among teachers in the Nagpur and Vidarbha regions was generally low. The mean familiarity score was 2.54 on a 5-point Likert scale, indicating that most teachers had limited familiarity with the system.

The analysis also revealed that there were some significant differences in familiarity based on geographic, Academic, and Role-based (designation) factors such as their geographic location (Urban and rural)teaching or non-teaching faculty etc.

The study also found that teachers who were familiar with the system had more positive perceptions of its benefits, such as improved efficiency, accuracy, and convenience. Almost 80 % agreed that having ERP in their organization will benefit it.

Conclusions and Discussion.

The study has important implications for the implementation of Education ERP in the Nagpur and Vidarbha regions of Maharashtra State. The findings suggest that the level of familiarity with the system among teachers is generally low, and there is a need for targeted training programs to improve their familiarity and competence. The differences in familiarity based on demographic factors also suggest that the training programs need to be customized to the needs of different groups of teachers.

The positive perceptions of the benefits of Education ERP among those who are familiar with the system suggest that the implementation of the system could have significant benefits for the educational system in the region.

Key Findings:

1. 59 % of respondents said that ERP is not used in their organization. Only 33% agreed that it is being used and 7.4 % were not aware of it.

2. Only 30 % of respondents are aware of ERP, 27 % were not aware and 33% have no idea what it is.

3. 55 % of respondents never used ERP in their Past or Present organization. 15 % are not aware of it and only 27& are or were using it.

4. Maximum schools are still using the traditional methods of school management

5. 56% of participants said they never used the ERP

6. The technologies used in the schools are either open source or in the public domain like WhatsApp

7. Many basic functions are still primitive like fee collection and receipt generation, Attendance, etc.

8. 76 % Agree that school or college automation is a good idea

9. Roughly 20 % of the participants still have no idea or clarity about the automation process.