The land is the first and foremost requirement to set up a new school. And that's what brings the significance of land for school purposes. Here we need to consider all the real estate aspects relating to purchase, sale, lease out or rent out of a land for school purposes.

There is a criterion prescribed by the law for the selection of land for school purposes.

What does the criteria say?

According to the government, 3,000 square meters of land is required to open a school in an urban area. Similarly, 6,000 square meters of land has been made the standard for setting up a school in rural areas.

For a Secondary school, the minimum land requirement prescribed by law is 1600 square meters and 2400 (or 3200) square meters for a Senior Secondary School subject to the restriction of optimum enrollment.

Apart from the area prescribed, it is important to make sure that the selected land has sufficient frontage and easy accessibility from the main road or city. These factors help in the image building as well as the brand building of the school. Even a smaller chunk of land towards the front for road access and the rest of the land towards the back is highly preferred.

The basic considerations on the selection of land for school purposes

The following factors are to be taken into consideration while making a selection for the site of the school:

• The site should be located in a healthy and pleasant surrounding.
• There should be scope for future expansion.
• The site of the school should not be in close proximity to any factory area or industrial area.
• The site should be far away from the cremation ground and big canals and rivers.
• The site should ensure easy access to essential public services like drainage, water-pipe arrangement, and lighting arrangements.
• The site should be well connected with other physical facilities of a community such as parks, health centers, libraries, streets, and residential housing.
• The school site should be a little raised in level and it should be dry. Care should be taken to avoid low lands subject to flood.
• The site should allow the construction of buildings and other infrastructure in such a way as to allow adequate sunlight during both summer and winter.
• The shape of the site is another considerable factor. It is ideal to have a rectangular shape of the site with a wide front.
• The site should be free from any type of soil dampness and waterlogging. It should have a sufficient underground water supply of good quality.

Above all, the site selected for school purposes should have a pleasing surrounding to give children a comfortable environment in the school. There should be proper arrangements for sanitation in the schools. Separate toilets should be made available to students and staff members and must be easily accessible from all classrooms. The toilets must be properly cared for and kept dry and clean.

The lavatories and toilets should be constructed to allow maximum cleanliness and sanitation. There should be adequate fresh air and natural light. Care should also be taken for other sanitary aspects like storage of drinking water, cleaning of the rooms, white-washing, and drainage system of the whole school premise.

Where to get help and guidance from?

School is basically a space to provide an excellent teaching and learning atmosphere for both teachers and students. Therefore, the land area on which a school is established has a very significant role to play in enhancing this teaching/learning atmosphere.

If you are now eager to find such ideal lands for school purposes, there are specialised online web portals dedicated to the real estate of properties for school purposes alone. These websites showcase updated property listings for school purposes and there are options for reviewing the sites before the final decision is made.