Educational Planning, Policy and Management of the Professional

Educational Institutions

Enamul Hoque 1
1
Research Scholar, Faculty of Education, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam University,
Indore, (M.P.), India, E-Mail ID: enamul77786@gmail.com

Abstract
Education is the key that opens the door to the development of a nation. It is an instrument
that facilitates the economic, social and technological development of a country. In order for
education to play a key role in the transformation of a nation, adequate and effective planning
is needed because flawed educational planning can jeopardize the development of a country
for decades to come. Thus, the importance of educational planning cannot be
overemphasized. This chapter examines the types and causes of educational planning. The
types of planning are discussed in detail and are based on an in-depth discussion of the
reasons for the educational plan presented.
Keywords: Educational, Planning, Development, Nation, Country etc.

Introduction
Planning is the most important part of decision making to achieve the desired goal. It is the
process of deciding what objectives need to be pursued within a given period of time and to
achieve these objectives in order to reduce the unnecessary stress of inevitability. With the
plan the goals are carried out instantly and one achieves the goal. To ensure the success of an
organization like education, planning should be done first. Planning includes the possibility
of better performance on all jobs. In the field of educational administration planning ensures
more effective decision-making and more satisfying outcome. Planning in education is an
extremely important activity as it forms the basis of all programs of quantitative and
qualitative improvement in education. India is a democratic dynamic and developing country.
It is engaged in the task of bringing about social, economic, political, cultural and educational
development of the national life in a systematic and orderly manner. This can be done only
by adopting techniques and approaches of planning.
Meaning and Nature of Educational Planning
A plan is conceptualized as a pre-determined strategy, detailed scheme or program of action
related to the accomplishment of an objective it implies some kind of mental activity during
the course of analyzing of laying out a method of achieving something. It focuses on ‘what’
and ‘how’ of achieving some goals. Identifying an educational plan refers to the purchase of
education systems and the attempt to change and distort plans in order to achieve relevant
goals. These changes are related to specific objectives and need to be coordinated with the
objectives and conditions not only in the aspects but also in other related aspects. They also
have to plan systematically. Planning actually means the process of setting out in advance a
pattern of action to bring about over all changes as viewed by national polices by the closet
possible articulation of means and ends.
Therefore, planning gives direction; enhances continuity of actions and reduces overlapping
of responsibilities, waste of time, energy and resources (Akpan, 2000). Thus, with effective
forecasting or planning our educational system can be made less uncertain (Akpan, 2000).
Akpan (2000) maintains that educational planning should reflect the state of development of
a nation including the needs and readiness to execute the planned objectives. Thus,
educational planning must take into consideration the population growth of children of school
age in relation to access to education, educational opportunities and the demand for
education. Comb cited in (Akpan, 2000) described educational planning as the application of
rational systematic analysis to the process of educational development with the aim of
making education more effective and efficient in responding to the needs and goals of the
learners and the society. objectives. Akpan (2011) conceptualizes planning as the process of
examining the future and
drawing up or mapping out a course of action for achieving specified goals and objectives.
According to Froebel cited in Peerzada (2016), education is the unfolding of what is already
enfolded in the man. It is development from within the individual until the person becomes
conscious of his unique existence and begins to seek his own place in the society (Peerzada,
2016).
Recent developments taking place in the, field of education have made educational planning
and absolute requirement. It is complexities of modern technology in society that have given
rise to the need for planning in education. Problems such as increasing population, man-
power needs, ecology, decreasing natural resources and haphazard application of scientific
developments of all place demands on educational institution for a solution. If educational
 institutions meet these problems, then planning becomes a necessity and planning skills
become mandatory. Planning is essential to bring about a desired change in educational
institutions in order to promote the effectiveness and efficiency of organizational health.

It is difficult to distinguish educational planning from other administrative functions. It is a

process that is utilized by the administrator while performing the role of leader, decision-
maker and change agent and so on. It is the basis management task according to some writers.
It is means of achieving higher levels of effectiveness. Its uniqueness, however, lies in its
future orientation or anticipation mode.
Educational planning may be perceived in a number of ways as has been done by the experts
in case of planning in general. Below are a few opinions that have been used by experts to
understand the meaning and nature of the plan.

(i) Educational planning is defining or determining some future issues such as time, situation
and needs. Expecting what could happen, the level of uncertainty has decreased. It refers to
the prediction or projection of important aspects of education such as the expansion of the
necessary facilities for different types of students and types of students. Educational planning
is also perceived as means of generating relevant present or future goals and objectives for an
organization.

(ii) First description of what is likely to happen after some years as started earlier is not
sufficient. Hence, view point of educational planning stresses that it should also call for
interpretation of future’s data and its translation into competencies or operational capabilities
demanded to maintain effectives under the conditions anticipated.

(iii) Educational planning is also perceived as operations optimization or performance

improvement. It is, according to this view, for the identifying and keeping in mind the
societal goals while preparing educational plans. Education is considered a means to
achievement the goals. Hence, the guiding principal underlying all educational plans has to
be the society and its goals. A contradiction between the societal goals and educational plan
cannot be tolerated in any society. Education being a sub-system of the larger societal system,
planning in education has to synchronize with the goals of the larger society.
(iv) Another view point on educational planning considers it as the preparation phase or a
precursor in the decision-making process. According this view educational planning is to help
determine the optimal decision or choice rendered. As the decision-making plan in most cases
of education administration turns to the other side of it.

Modern educational planning emphasizes that the plans should be need based and situation
oriented. In order to solve immediate problems specific and unitary plan can be prepared.
Similarly, depending upon the emerging needs in the near and far beyond futures short term
and long-term plans may be prepared. The principal emphasizes that there cannot be a single
best plan for all purposes and all times. Each plan should have a unique character which
should be determined by the needs of the situations.

Approaches to Educational Planning

Preparing educational plans, different considerations and frames of reference are used for
taking decisions which finally constitute the plan. Learning is a sort of strategy building for
achieving a central goal. It involves selling of targets, making assumptions and choices and
finally preparing a comprehensive plan or a program of action based on priorities. In the field
of education these choice and decision may be required to be made on the basis of several
viewpoints. The viewpoints that constitutes the focus, the central point around which
planning is provides a particular model or approaches planning. Over the years and across
different countries, different methods of educational planning have developed. Basically,
these can all be subsumed under some.

Different mode of approaches, these are:

1. Educational planning on intra-educational extrapolation model.

2. Educational planning on demographic model.
3. Educational planning on school mapping.
4. Educational Planning on Demographic Approach

These approaches are not mutually exclusive. Each of these models, however, has its own
premises, a procedural logic and mythology. Sometimes the models of school mapping are
seen as a separate approach to educational planning although it combines elements of several
of the other approaches. A brief account of the characteristic of each approach follows:

Educational Planning on Intra Educational Extrapolation Model

Conceptually the task of intra-education extrapolations’ is relatively simple and
straightforward. It consists of estimating the quantitative implications for the system as a
whole. In other words, it means setting targets for one particular characteristic of the
educational system. Thus, if the target were to be the achievement of universal primary
education up to certain grade level by a certain year, the education planners would
extrapolate from this datum the ways in which the supply of teachers, the construction of new
buildings ‘the production of new textbooks and the like would need to be scheduled to ensure
that the target will be reached. Flow statistics of various kinds become an important tool for
this kind of analysis. This can become particularly involved and complicated when an attempt
is made to take sub-national variations into account.

Educational Planning on Demographic Model

In one form or another, population data from a part of virtually all methods of educational
planning provide parameters based on population estimates to complement future education
systems. Even the most limited interdisciplinary estimates are based on at least a few rough
indications of the specific size and age structure of a given population in the future. However,
the estimation of demographic developments has become a source of planning criteria in its
own right. Estimation of the size of the age cohort to be served by a certain level of the
educational system as a specific future point in time lead, directly to some future need a
teacher. Given that in most societies the size age cohort is rather reliably known as least five
or six years before its entry the first year of formal schooling and many more years before
second and tertiary institution are attended. The major source of error in the approach to
educational planning have to do with the points in the educational system where members of
an age group can and do make choices between different educational options.

Educational Planning on School Mapping

School mapping has much of ingredients of the demographic approach, but tends into taking
a number of other variables into account in determining the optional location of schools. By
constructing rather detailed ‘maps’ of the actual or projected catchment areas of schools in
terms of their demographic, geographic, social and transportation characteristics, an attempt
is made to identify physical location that would maximize access to a school for a given
population. Some-times referred to as ‘micro planning’, the school map strategy has been
importunity vehicle for moving educational planning from a largely national frame of
reference to more detailed concerned with regional and local conditions and constraints in
educational development, including concerns with the distribution of educational
opportunities across national and regional entries.

Educational Planning on Demographic Approach

Educational planning emphases that educational facilities are extended in proportion to the
degree they are demand people. But this does not there should be no limit to educational
expansion. Social demand approach is not the only consideration that should guide
educational planning on determine its parameters. Social demand for education may be
unrealistic as an artifact of socio-cultural environment. In that case educational planning
should not be wholly guided by this approach. In a country like India where people live in
democratic set-up social demand for facilities up to certain stage of education has to be met.
But this not be overdone. If social demand education is given the whole of the weightage it
will lead to unemployment and widespread under employment of the educated, which in turn
many threaten the social and political stability.

Planning in Public Policy

It is an expected decision-making process that helps deal with complexity. It decides the
future course of action from among the options. It is a process that involves setting and
evaluating each of the interrelated decisions. This results in better results than unplanned
performance of a mission, goal and knowledge action translation selection. The job of a
manager is to plan, monitor and control. Planning and goal setting are important features of
an organization. This is done at all levels of the organization. Planning includes planning,
thought process, action and implementation. Planning gives more energy in the future. The
plan has already decided what should be done, how it should be done, when it should be done
and who should do the work. This bridges the gap from where the company wants to go.
Planning activities involve setting goals and arranging them logically. A well-planned
organization achieves goals faster than those who do not plan before implementing the plan.
Conclusion
In the light of the discussion of the type of educational plan and the reasons, it can be
concluded that the type of educational plan adopted by a nation is determined by etiquette.
However, the process of educational planning is required for various reasons and some of the
reasons include rising cost of education, technological development, unemployment, impact
of globalization on national economy, poverty, social change, demand growth and access to
education, inflation trend and economic uncertainty. The government should provide
adequate funds and strategic plans for the planning and implementation of education, the
educational goals set out for adoption in the education plan and the systematic logic and
scientific in achieving the goals.

References
Akpan, C. P. (2000). Effective planning: A pre-requisite for successful implementation of the
Universal Basic Education (UBE) scheme. International Journal of Research in Basic and
Life-Long Education. 1(1&2), 102-109.

Akpan, C. P. (2011). Fundamentals of School Business Management. Calabar: Primchoice

Konsult.

Peerzada, N. (2016). Educational Ideas of Fridrich August Froebel. International Journal of

Scientific Research and Education. 4(2). 4983-4988.

About the Author

Enamul Hoque is a Research Scholar, Faculty of Education from Dr.
A.P.J. Abdul Kalam University, Indore, (M.P.), India, E-Mail ID:
enamul77786@gmail.com