Chennai: R Vidya, parent of a Class IX student from Vellammal Bodhi Campus, no longer waits for her son to update her about his performance in unit tests or assignments. An app provided by the school directly notifies the parents about the ward’s performance while offering an assessment of strong and weak points, and insights into subject-wise specifics.“My son can also take tests on the app, designed by the school themselves. . Apart from the results of tests and internal assessments, the school uploads report cards and attendance details , to ensure transparency,” she said.Several city schools are adopting mobile or web-based AI-powered enterprise resource planning (ERP) tools such as My Classboard and Neverskip. Charging schools on a per student basis, these platforms inform parents about homework, fees, transport and create a communication space for parents and teachers.Answer keys are fed into the system and answer sheets are analysed, which offers insights into language through comparison. “It involves some work from the backend too on the teachers’ side. But the platforms are evolving. Once they notice a pattern, they automatically provide analysis without referring to answer sheets,” a teacher at a prominent IB school on the OMR said.School heads say streamlined communication an advantage. “Such platforms do away with WhatsApp based messages and secure critical information. We are charged ₹400 per student on a yearly basis, and the platform covers 1,600 students. Schools can add customize features as per need,” said J Sundar, principal, Bala Vidya Mandir.Parents also welcome such platforms. “School group chats are chaotic, with several unwanted messages. At Chennai Public School, where my son studied till class X, a parents’ dashboard provided one on one information. The process was simpler and one could pose queries through the portal. However, my son’s current school offers no such platform and they are missing out,” Beena, a parent, said.Educationists point out that the pandemic largely drove adoption, after introducing schools to digital teaching. “Today, ERPs have become vital to run a school, especially if the strength is high,” said Prem Shankar, chairman, Holy Sai Group of Institutions.
