Log into Facebook for your children’s school admission

The management of MIT Vishwashanti Gurukul took a collective decision to launch their official Facebook page in April last year.

“Since most of the parents of our students stay abroad,it made sense for the school to have its own Facebook page,” said Rama Shinde,PYP principal and NYP co-ordinator.

The Facebook page of this residential school is maintained by a hired agency along with the school’s IT department. The page has weblinks for admission,prospectus,cultural events,quiz competition and the like.

The Facebook page of Global Indian International School (GIIS),Chinchwad,has a weblink for admission forms and a photo gallery of events like sports meet,excursions,concerts and so on. The school launched its official page in 2011 and after some initial help from an agency,the management has been maintaining the page independently.

“We have to move with the times. Social media is very important these days. A Facebook page gives visibility to the school. Besides,it adds to the USP of the school as well as to the satisfaction of the parents,” said Amrita Vora,principal of GIIS Chinchwad.

From advertisements carrying information on vacancies in the school to those relating to school uniform,parents handbook,events calender and so on,The Orbis School’s Facebook page is packed with a number of activities. The page — launched about two years ago – flaunts photos taken on their annual sports day and Republic Day function,a weblink that directs users to the school’s website and several other links informing the parents about the school.

“We thought that social media is the best and the most convenient way of reaching out to all stakeholders and the community at large. So far,the page,which is handled by the management itself,has garnered a good response,” said Haseeb Faquih,director of The Orbis School.

Most school managements feel that an official Facebook page brings more visibility and credibility to their school than bad attention.

When it comes to negative feedback,they feel it helps them improve.

“Generally,no one posts a drastically negative comment on the page. But if at all there are any such feedback,it helps us improve and take corrective measures,” GIIS principal Vora said.

An official Facebook page brings so much attention these days that the Victorious Kids Educares’s page that was launched only four months ago already has over 10,000 ‘likes’.

“We launched the page on the advice of one of the parents. The page has received tremendous response. We update it very regularly with articles,photos and videos,” said Robin Ghosh,the founder and president of the school.