Over 20000 Abacus Franchises Are Now Closed Due To The Pandemic Effect. Are You One of Them ?

Revival of Abacus Franchise During Lockdown 

The ensuing write-up is about a conversation I had almost a year back. My entire team was engrossed in finding solutions for the revival of the Abacus Franchise during lockdown that had closed down owing to the Covid. The students stopped attending their Abacus classes. The lockdown severely hit our business as we hugely depended on our Abacus franchise business spread across 16 countries.

My conversation was with three people, one being an Abacus Trainer cum owner of the Abacus Class and the other being a father and child duo. The child was a student of Abacus.

As an Abacus promoter, I wanted to know, 'What do they have to say about the effect of the Covid pandemic on Abacus Learning and Abacus Teaching?'

Abacus Classes - Effect of the lockdown

While the Abacus Academy owner expressed that he was going through a horrible phase as he had to close down his Abacus center as the students stopped coming due to the lockdown. He also said he did try teaching Abacus online through the available video conferencing apps, but the results could have been more satisfactory and promising. It could have been more convenient for Abacus Training online for students.

I told him I couldn't agree more that over 20000 Abacus Institutes worldwide had shut down due to the lockdown and that this had rendered more than 30000 Abacus Trainers jobless.

Abacus Learning - Effect of the lockdown

When I looked at the father and son duo, they had a lot to say. At the same time, the father said that his son had to discontinue his Abacus Classes as the centers were closed. He felt this deprived his child of learning the skill of Abacus mental math.

Meanwhile, the son waited impatiently for his turn to get into the conversation. He had a lot to say, which seemed evident as he was the end-user, and naturally the most affected.

He said when the lockdown started; his Abacus class got closed. He was sad that he and many other students of that Abacus class were now unable to learn Abacus Math.

I told him it was not only him; over 5 to 6 lacs, or approximately half a million students, were facing the same situation. They all had to discontinue their Abacus Training as all the centers providing Abacus for kids closed down during the pandemic.

Online Abacus Classes Could Be More Effective

When I probed further with my question, why did the teacher not go online, and why did the student not join Online Abacus classes?

Well, with this, I hit Pandora's box. Both the teacher and the student started to put their opinion on this. They had so much to say. Let me sum it up one by one.

I will get you the Student "s view first.

-He said it was tough to learn Abacus online on mobile. He said he could sometimes not see the finger movements demonstrated by his teacher and also said his teacher also faced the same problem. Because of this, he made mistakes in moving the Abacus beads correctly on the Abacus tool. He further added that the wrong answers always frustrated him.

- He was finding it challenging to do Abacus Mental Math practice. He was also unable to improve his speed of calculations because of a lack of mental practice.

- The student also believed that the teacher could not regularly check his workbook for Homework and Class Work.

- He further said he was not enjoying learning Abacus as he did not know how his other friends performed.

The child summed it all up in one final sentence: the Abacus Online class was not exciting, and he did not want to continue.

Now it was the turn of the Abacus Trainer. He said he agreed with all that the student said. For Abacus to be taught online, we must create a dedicated platform for teaching and learning.

I went a step further and asked him to be more specific about all the facilities he would like to have in the Online Abacus Teaching Platform so that he could teach smoothly and effectively.

The teacher had clear ideas, and he insisted I would better take note of the points he was going to raise. To which I agreed and started to jot down his points.

Requirements In An Online Abacus Teaching Platform

a. A well-developed integrated system from which several students could participate in the Abacus Class. He could train all the students for the correct finger movements and also be able to monitor and ensure that all students followed the proper method. The number of students in the class should be a good thing in the teaching process. It should be independent of external video conferencing apps.

b. An option that would allow problems of different students to be attended to at the same time by him and still not disturb the normal class functioning.

 
c. A system with a facility from where he could give Classwork and Homework and also that he should be able to check and evaluate the work thus done by the students, preferably in real-time.

d. Most importantly, specially developed content could be easy to show, explain, and keep the students glued to the screen. He said that the lessons created in the form of self-explanatory videos and further use of visual support to explain would be easy. He considered this the only way to bring the students back to the Abacus classes and be worth the money the parents would invest.

e. He also said that since it would be all online better if we were done away with the workbooks, the child should solve the questions and input the answers on the system itself. This facility, he said, would ease the problem of evaluating the work done by the students.

f. One more requirement, according to him, was to create a competitive atmosphere in the class and give students awards. He concluded even if it is virtual, it would be good enough.

g. After a second thought, he added that if the experts could develop a digital Abacus or a Virtual Abacus that could be of great help, especially if the child gets stuck in solving any sum while doing the homework.

h. The system should allow the teacher to conduct the exams level-wise and also will enable the teacher to issue Certificates to the students after that.

i. He said he would also want the system to have a complete online Abacus teachers' training system so that he can become an expert in conducting the Online Abacus Classes.

j. He also wanted the system to facilitate online registration and collection of fees of the students.

When he had said all and I had done my listing, it was apparent why the several companies that claimed to be offering Online Abacus Classes had failed to help the closed-down Abacus Academies to get back their students.

It required the experts to develop a vast integrated Abacus Teaching and Abacus Learning system in tandem with the Abacus Experts. They must create an exclusive online-friendly curriculum to deliver the expected convenience and results. The requirement required a lot of time, expertise, and financial investment.

Which certainly was not a cup of tea for small-time companies.

The Challenges Were Too Many. But, of Course, What Was The Solution? 

As promoters of Abacus Education for over two decades and having our presence in over 16 countries worldwide, we Mastermind Abacus took up the challenge. It developed a Hi-tech Abacus Teaching and Learning Platform that promises to meet all the needs expressed by my friend's Abacus teacher and the Abacus student.

Yes, we successfully created The World "s First Live Online Abacus Teaching Platform.

This Online Abacus Learning Platform of Mastermind Abacus meets all the expectations of the Abacus Institutes and the Trainers. It is also extremely easy for the students to access and operate. The program is enjoyable and exceptionally engaging for the students. The Abacus lessons are in the form of interesting and innovative video games based on Math calculations. The system allows the Abacus Trainer to conduct exams, evaluate in real-time, issue Certificates, and collect fees for management marketing. It has an answer to every aspect related to Teaching Abacus or managing the Abacus institute most effectively.

Low investment in Abacus franchise business in India

Anyone could start their own Abacus Training Center / Institute with a low investment franchise business, no overhead expenses, and naturally no Business risk, with only a Laptop / PC with broadband internet connection.

Mastermind's Live online Abacus Learning Platform is the answer to the present catastrophic situation being faced by my friend Abacus's teacher and many more. It will undoubtedly help the several closed-down Abacus Centers, and the out-of-job Abacus Trainers not only get back their previously registered students but also encourage many more students to enroll themselves.

Your opinion and suggestions are most valid for further enhancing the utility of this Online Abacus Learning Platform. Do put your comments in the comment box.

Also Read: Starting An Abacus Franchise Things You Should Know