What is ISO 21001 – Education Organizations Management System (EOMS)?

Education in the backbone of development in any country. It plays an important role in bringing positive change and has the power to refine people’s thinking process that helps people to discover what they are passionate about along with changing their perspective of seeing the outside world. Hence, the quality of education cannot be compromised but should continually enhance and have a positive growth.

ISO 21001 is an effective quality management system developed by the International Organization for Standardization to standardize Education Management System, ensuring it meets the learners need. Implementing best practices intends to help the schools, colleges and other training provider to specify or bring in positive changes to the operational processes in the education system which can be its services or products.

This Standard applies to all educational institutes that are part of the ecosystem that provides, shares or facilitates abundant knowledge to learners through the process of teaching, training, researching etc. This standard aims to

• To give guidance on providing the best quality education
• Encourage excellence and continuous innovation, along with inculcating ethical and social responsibilities.
• Offer customised experience to learners, while motivating and supporting people with special educational needs.
• Address key challenges faced in educational sector to be better positioned and realise new growing opportunities.
• Improve learner’s satisfaction and other beneficiary’s satisfaction.

What makes ISO 21001 different from ISO 9001?

ISO 9001 focuses on customer satisfaction while ISO 21001 focuses on satisfaction of learners and other beneficiaries like educational government norms, labour market, parents, guardians etc.

Although ISO 9001 is applicable to all organizations but it failed to identify educational needs, due to which there was an urge or need to develop a system for education management.

Importance of ISO 21001

In this growing era sooner or later, ISO 21001 will be recognized as independent and a most important standard for educational industry. Every institute would want to establish necessary policies and procedures to ensure that their products and services meet the needs of learners, teachers, staff and other beneficiaries’. Implementing ISO 21001 needs will enable to have proper control over the management system along with enhancing personal development and being more creative in nature.

Key ISO 21001 Principles

Implementing ISO 21001 draws on the following principles

• Focus on learners and other beneficiaries’
• Visionary Leadership
• Engagement of people
• Process approach
• Continual improvement
• Evidence based decisions
• Relationship management
• Social responsibility
• Accessibility and equity
• Ethical conduct
• Data protection

Requirement to get the Certificate

• Gap analysis and planning for the documentation (Records and Procedures)
• Training and support for implementation
• Internal audit for verification of implemented system (at least 2 times)
• Management review
• Correct root cause and any conformance’s identified by the audit
• Certification audit
• Closure of non-conformities.