Reference Guide
School Management Glossary
Definitions for every term you'll encounter running a school in Nepal.
- Academic Year
- The annual cycle of schooling in Nepal, running from Shrawan (mid-July) to Ashad (mid-July) of the following year in the Bikram Sambat calendar. Nepal's academic year is divided into two semesters or three terms depending on the school's structure.
- Attendance Register
- A record of student presence and absence, traditionally maintained as a paper book by each class teacher. Digital attendance registers, like those in Gurukul, replace paper with smartphone or web-based marking, eliminating data loss and enabling instant parent notifications.
- Bikram Sambat (BS)
- Nepal's official national calendar, approximately 56 to 57 years ahead of the Gregorian (AD) calendar. All official school documents, exam schedules, and government reporting in Nepal use the BS calendar. Gurukul natively supports BS date display across all modules.
- Bulk Billing
- The process of generating fee bills for all students in a school - or a specific class or grade - at once, rather than creating individual bills one by one. Gurukul's bulk billing feature lets administrators generate and send bills for hundreds of students in a single click.
- Class Section
- A sub-division of a grade level used to split students into manageable groups, for example Grade 8A and Grade 8B. Each section typically has its own class teacher, timetable, and attendance register.
- Credit System
- The grading framework introduced by Nepal's National Examinations Board (NEB) for Grades 11 and 12, where each subject carries a credit value based on teaching hours. Students must earn a minimum number of credits to be promoted or graduate.
- Digital Attendance
- Attendance marking done via a smartphone, tablet, or computer rather than a paper register. Digital systems like Gurukul record timestamps, sync data instantly, generate monthly reports automatically, and send real-time absence alerts to parents.
- eSewa
- Nepal's most widely used digital wallet and online payment platform, operated by F1Soft International. eSewa is accepted by thousands of merchants and service providers across Nepal, including schools using Gurukul for fee collection.
- Fee Structure
- The official schedule of charges a school sets for a given academic year or term, covering tuition fees, admission fees, exam fees, transport, hostel, and other charges. Gurukul allows schools to define flexible fee structures and apply them to individual students or entire grades.
- Fonepay
- Nepal's inter-bank QR payment network operated by Nepal Clearing House Ltd (NCHL), allowing payments between any bank account using a single QR code. Fonepay is widely used for school fee payments as it works across all major Nepali banks.
- GPA (Grade Point Average)
- A weighted numerical average of a student's grade points across all subjects in a term or year. In Nepal's NEB system, GPA is calculated on a 4.0 scale where A+ equals 4.0, A equals 3.6, and so on down to NG (Not Graded).
- Grading System
- The scale used to convert raw exam scores into letter grades and grade points. NEB Nepal uses: A+ (90-100, GPA 4.0), A (80-89, GPA 3.6), B+ (70-79, GPA 3.2), B (60-69, GPA 2.8), C+ (50-59, GPA 2.4), C (40-49, GPA 2.0), D (35-39, GPA 1.6), and NG (below 35).
- Homework Management
- The process of assigning, distributing, and tracking student homework and assignments. Digital homework management systems allow teachers to post assignments online, set deadlines, and track submission status - replacing physical homework diaries.
- Khalti
- Nepal's second-largest digital payment platform, offering wallet payments, bank transfers, and QR code payments. Gurukul integrates directly with Khalti, enabling parents to pay school fees online without visiting the school office.
- Mark Sheet
- An official document listing a student's scores, grades, and grade points for each subject in an examination. In Nepal, mark sheets are issued by the school for internal exams and by NEB for board examinations (SEE and Grades 11-12).
- Multi-tenant SaaS
- A software delivery model where a single application instance serves multiple client organizations (tenants), with each tenant's data kept completely isolated from others. Gurukul is a multi-tenant SaaS - each school gets its own secure, isolated workspace running on shared infrastructure.
- NEB (National Examinations Board)
- Nepal's government body responsible for conducting and managing national examinations for Grades 10, 11, and 12. NEB oversees the SEE (Secondary Education Examination) and the HSEB-equivalent national exams, sets curriculum standards, and publishes official results.
- Parent Portal
- A secure online interface that allows parents to view their child's attendance records, fee statements, exam results, and school announcements without visiting the school. Gurukul's parent portal is accessible via the student app and web browser.
- Report Card
- An official document issued by the school at the end of each term or academic year summarizing a student's academic performance, attendance, conduct, and co-curricular achievements. Gurukul generates digital report cards automatically from entered marks and attendance data.
- SEE (Secondary Education Examination)
- Nepal's national board exam for Grade 10 students, administered by the National Examinations Board (NEB). Formerly known as the School Leaving Certificate (SLC), the SEE result determines students' eligibility and grade placement for Grades 11 and 12.
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