Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

The School Management Institute (SMI) is an education training organisation that trains and certifies school owners across Africa as Chartered School Managers. We are operated by EduMESS and are headquartered in Abuja, Nigeria.

Our website is schoolmanagementinstitute.com. If you have questions about this policy, contact us at hello@schoolmanagementinstitute.com.

2. Information We Collect

Information you give us directly

• Application data — your name, email address, phone number, location (city, state, country), school name, school type, years of experience, and answers to application questions when you apply to the SMI programme.
• Account data — email address and password when you create a student, mentor, or investor account on our platform.
• Mentor profile data — professional title, organisation, bio, expertise areas, LinkedIn URL, photo, and mentoring preferences if you are a mentor in our programme.
• Partner application data — company name, contact details, value proposition, and supporting documents when you apply to become an SMI partner organisation.
• Investor application data — name, contact details, investment interests, and professional background if you apply to our investor network.
• Communications — any messages you send us via email, WhatsApp, or contact forms.

Information collected automatically

• Usage data — pages visited, time spent, browser type, device type, and referring URL, collected via server logs.
• Location data — city or state inferred from your browser or stored in your session preferences (used to personalise cohort information).
• Cookies and local storage — we store lightweight preferences (such as your city selection) in your browser's local storage. We do not use third-party advertising cookies.

3. How We Use Your Information

• To process and review your programme application and communicate our decision.
• To manage your student, mentor, or investor account and provide access to programme materials.
• To send you programme-related communications — class schedules, assignments, certificates, and cohort updates.
• To send you scholarship and cohort announcements you have opted in to receive.
• To match you with relevant mentors, cohorts, or investor opportunities based on your profile.
• To improve our website, curriculum, and services using aggregated, anonymised analytics.
• To comply with applicable laws and regulations.

4. Marketing Communications

If you submit an application or opt in to our mailing list, we may send you emails about upcoming cohorts, scholarships, programme updates, and SMI news. Every marketing email includes an unsubscribe link. You can also opt out at any time by emailing hello@schoolmanagementinstitute.com.

We use Mautic, a self-hosted CRM platform, to manage email communications. Your data processed through Mautic remains on our own servers and is not shared with third-party advertising platforms.

5. How We Share Your Information

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information. We share data only in the following limited circumstances:

• Mentors — if you are accepted into the programme, your first name and cohort city may be shared with your assigned mentor to facilitate sessions.
• Partner organisations — with your explicit consent, we may share your details with SMI partners (such as Feeable for school fee financing) when you indicate interest in their services.
• Service providers — trusted vendors who help us operate the platform (e.g. email delivery, hosting), bound by confidentiality agreements.
• Legal requirements — if required by law, court order, or to protect the rights and safety of SMI, our users, or the public.

6. Data Retention

We retain your personal data for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide services. Application data is retained for a minimum of 2 years to support programme administration and alumni tracking. You may request deletion at any time (see Section 8).

7. Data Security

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your data, including:

• Encrypted passwords (bcrypt hashing — plain-text passwords are never stored).
• HTTPS encryption for all data transmitted to and from our website.
• Access controls limiting data access to authorised SMI staff only.
• Regular security reviews of our platform.

No system is 100% secure. If you believe your account has been compromised, contact us immediately at hello@schoolmanagementinstitute.com.

8. Your Rights

You have the right to:

• Access — request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Correction — ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
• Deletion — request that we delete your personal data, subject to legal obligations.
• Opt out — unsubscribe from marketing emails at any time.
• Data portability — request your data in a structured, machine-readable format.

To exercise any of these rights, email us at hello@schoolmanagementinstitute.com with the subject line "Data Request". We will respond within 14 business days.

9. Children's Privacy

SMI's programme is designed for adult school owners and education professionals. We do not knowingly collect personal data from anyone under the age of 18. If you believe a minor has submitted information to us, please contact us and we will promptly delete it.

10. Third-Party Links

Our website contains links to partner websites (EduMESS, Feeable, Founder Institute, Opingo & Co, and others). We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those sites. We encourage you to read their privacy policies before sharing any personal information with them.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. Significant changes will be communicated to registered users by email. Your continued use of our services after any update constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.

12. Contact Us