The Biggest Lie in EdTech (And Why Schools Keep Falling For It)
Vinod Kalkundrikar
Posted on April 4, 2025
“Sir, ERP is only ₹80 per student!”
Picture this.
You’re sipping chai in the staff room. A guy with a laptop walks in, dressed sharp, smiling like he knows the future.
“We’re offering the full School ERP at just ₹80 per student, per year.”
Before you can say “Excel sheet,” he’s halfway through a PowerPoint with animations, AI buzzwords, and app screenshots that look like Apple built them.
You’re sold. You sign. Fast forward 3 months…
- Teachers are still on WhatsApp.
- Parents have uninstalled the app.
- And you’re still hunting for that attendance report before the DEO visit.
Welcome to the great Indian ERP illusion.
The ₹80 ERP Drama: What You’re Really Buying
You think you’re getting a budget-friendly, feature-loaded platform. What you’re actually getting is:
- One login
- A broken UI
- A support number that rings into the void
- And 30 modules that technically exist… but none that actually work
Let’s be honest.
If Netflix charged ₹80 a year, would it still stream? Would you even trust the content?
Then why trust an ERP that costs less than your school diary?
Real Talk: Schools Don’t Need “Tech” — They Need Tools That Work
Let’s stop romanticising “digital transformation.” Schools aren’t looking for AI. They just want peace of mind.
Here’s what staff really need:
- A way to mark attendance in 2 taps
- Automatic fee reminders that actually work
- Report cards that generate — not give you anxiety
- A parent app that doesn’t feel like punishment
And here’s the brutal truth: Cheap ERPs don’t do any of that.
Why Schools Keep Getting Fooled
You’re not alone. Thousands of schools fall into the same traps.
Let’s break down the common ERP lies:
“It has 40+ modules!”
…Yeah, but none of them actually work the way you need.
“We’ll customize everything!”
Until one teacher asks for a simple feature and they say: “That’s in our premium plan.”
“You don’t need training. It’s super intuitive.”
Then why does your staff look like they’re decoding a NASA launch?
“It’s only ₹80 per student.”
Cost = what you pay.
Value = what you get.
And in this case, you paid for a chair but got a stool with one leg.
Here’s What Great ERPs Actually Do (No One Tells You This)
The best ERPs are not the ones with the most features. They’re the ones people ACTUALLY USE.
✔ Teachers can finish daily work in <10 minutes
✔ Parents check the app regularly
✔ Management can pull live reports without calling “that one IT guy”
✔ No one says “let’s just use WhatsApp” anymore
That’s when you know it’s working.
₹300 ERP vs ₹80 ERP — Let’s Settle This Once and for All
Metric ₹80 ERP ₹300 ERP
Cost Feels light Feels heavy (at first)
Training “No need!” Included & hands-on
Support “Hello… hello?” Real people, real help
Usage 10% adoption 80–90% adoption
Outcome More chaos Actual time saved
ROI Negative Positive and growing
Your fees app alone can recover this cost in 2 months. But you’ll never know that with an ERP that breaks when 30 parents log in at once.
Still Thinking About Price?
Cool. Let’s talk about the REAL cost.
- 1 angry parent? = 10 other parents doubting you
- 1 failed fee reminder? = ₹50,000+ in missed payments
- 1 bad inspection? = A dent in your reputation
Cheap ERP isn’t cheap. It’s expensive in invisible ways.
What You Should Actually Look For
Before you buy, ask these:
- Is the ERP being used by 80%+ of the staff in other schools?
- Can it scale from “just attendance” to “complete performance + communication”?
- Do they offer live support or just a chatbot?
- Will it work when your internet is slow (be honest)
- Is your staff smiling after onboarding?
If the answer is no to any of these, don’t sign. Even if it’s ₹0.
Final Word: Schools Deserve Better. So Stop Settling.
ERPs shouldn’t be painful. They shouldn’t confuse your teachers, or sit idle while you run your school on WhatsApp.
You don’t need the fanciest ERP. You need the one that actually fits your school.
So next time someone says, “Sir, only ₹80 per student,” just smile and ask:
“Cool. Can you show me 3 schools using it every day — happily?”
Watch them blink. Blink. Blink.
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