Add your first student

This guide covers all methods for adding students to Makronexus Education: manual entry, CSV import, and the full admissions workflow.

Overview

There are three ways to add students:

Method	Best for	Time per student
Manual entry	Individual students, corrections	2-3 minutes
CSV import	Bulk enrollment, migrations	Seconds (batch)
Admissions workflow	New applicants with full tracking	5-10 minutes

Choose based on your situation:

• New school setup: Use CSV import for existing students
• Single new student: Manual entry
• Formal application process: Admissions workflow

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Prerequisites

Before adding students, ensure:

Requirement	How to verify	Why needed
Academic year created	Foundation → Schools → Academic Years	Students need an academic period
Current year set	Year shows "Current" badge	Enrollment validation
Grade levels configured	Academics → Class Structure → Grade Levels	Assignment to grade
Class divisions created	Academics → Class Structure → Class Divisions	Class placement
School selected	Check top navigation bar	Data isolation

Setup order matters

If you try to add students before setting up grade levels and class divisions, you won't be able to assign them to classes.

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Method 1: Manual entry

Navigation: People → Students

Step 1: Open students page

1. Click People in the sidebar
2. Click Students
3. You'll see the student directory with filters and actions

Step 2: Click Add student

Click the Add student button (with + icon) in the top right.

Step 3: Enter student details

The student form has several sections:

Basic Information

Field	Required	Description	Example
First name	✅	Legal first name	"Tatenda"
Middle name	Optional	Middle name(s)	"Grace"
Surname	✅	Family name	"Moyo"
Preferred name	Optional	Name student goes by	"Tate"
Date of birth	✅	Birth date (YYYY-MM-DD)	2012-05-15
Gender	✅	MALE, FEMALE, OTHER	"FEMALE"
Nationality	Optional	Country of citizenship	"Zimbabwean"

Identity

Field	Required	Description	Example
National ID	Optional	Government ID number	"63-123456-A-12"
Birth certificate number	Optional	Birth registration	"BC-12345-2012"
Passport number	Optional	For international students	"ZN123456"
Student ID	Auto	Generated by system	"STU-2026-00001"

Contact

Field	Required	Description	Example
Email	Optional	Student email (secondary+)	"student@school.ac.zw"
Phone	Optional	Mobile number	"+263771234567"
Address	Optional	Home address	"123 Main Street, Harare"

Academic

Field	Required	Description	Example
Grade level	✅	Academic grade	"Form 1"
Class division	✅	Specific class	"Form 1A"
Stream	Conditional	If school uses streams	"Sciences"
Student type	Optional	Regular, Transfer, Re-admit	"REGULAR"
Enrollment status	Auto	Set to ACTIVE	"ACTIVE"

Additional

Field	Required	Description
Boarding status	Optional	DAY, BOARDING, WEEKLY_BOARDING
Medical conditions	Optional	Allergies, conditions to note
Special needs	Optional	Learning accommodations
Previous school	Optional	Transfer information
Religion	Optional	If relevant to school
Home language	Optional	Primary language at home

Step 4: Assign to class

1. Select the Grade level from the dropdown
2. The Class division dropdown filters to classes in that grade
3. Select the specific class (e.g., "Form 1A")
4. If your school uses streams, select the stream

Step 5: Save the student

1. Review all entered information
2. Click Save or Create student
3. The student appears in the students list

Step 6: Add guardian (recommended)

After creating the student:

1. Open the student's detail view
2. Navigate to the Guardians tab
3. Click Link guardian
4. Either search for existing guardian or create new
5. Set the relationship (Parent, Guardian, Emergency Contact)

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Method 2: CSV bulk import

Navigation: People → Import People

For importing many students at once.

Step 1: Download the template

1. Go to People → Import People
2. Select Students as the import type
3. Click Download template
4. Open the CSV file in Excel or Google Sheets

Step 2: Understand the template columns

Required columns:

Column	Format	Example
firstName	Text	"Tatenda"
surname	Text	"Moyo"
dateOfBirth	YYYY-MM-DD	"2012-05-15"
gender	MALE/FEMALE/OTHER	"FEMALE"
gradeLevelCode	Code matching your setup	"F1" or "FORM1"
classDivisionCode	Code matching your setup	"F1A"

Optional but recommended:

Column	Format	Notes
middleName	Text
nationalId	Text	Include hyphens
email	Valid email	For older students
phone	With country code	"+263..."
boardingStatus	DAY/BOARDING
studentType	REGULAR/TRANSFER

Step 3: Fill in student data

Tips for successful imports:

1. Match codes exactly — Grade level and class division codes must match what's in the system
2. Date format — Use YYYY-MM-DD (e.g., 2012-05-15)
3. No extra spaces — Trim whitespace from all cells
4. UTF-8 encoding — Save as CSV UTF-8 for special characters
5. Header row — Keep the first row as column headers

Example data:

firstName,surname,dateOfBirth,gender,gradeLevelCode,classDivisionCode
Tatenda,Moyo,2012-05-15,FEMALE,F1,F1A
Kudzai,Nyathi,2012-03-22,MALE,F1,F1A
Rufaro,Chigumba,2011-11-08,FEMALE,F1,F1B

Step 4: Upload and preview

1. Click Upload CSV or drag the file into the upload area
2. The system parses the file and shows a preview
3. Review:
   • Total rows detected
   • Valid vs invalid rows
   • Validation errors for each row

Step 5: Fix validation errors

Common errors and solutions:

Error	Cause	Solution
"Grade level not found"	Code doesn't match	Check exact code in Academics → Grade Levels
"Class division not found"	Code doesn't match	Check exact code in Academics → Class Divisions
"Invalid date format"	Wrong date format	Use YYYY-MM-DD
"Invalid gender"	Unexpected value	Use MALE, FEMALE, or OTHER
"Duplicate entry"	Student already exists	Remove row or update existing

Step 6: Confirm import

1. Once all rows are valid (or you've reviewed which will be skipped)
2. Click Import or Confirm import
3. Wait for the import to complete
4. Review the summary showing:
   • Successfully imported
   • Skipped (with reasons)
   • Errors

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Method 3: Admissions workflow

Navigation: Admissions → Applications

For formal application tracking from prospect to enrolled student.

Overview of the admissions pipeline

Prospect → Application → Evaluation → Decision → Offer → Acceptance → Enrollment → Class Assignment

Step 1: Create an application

1. Go to Admissions → Applications
2. Click New application
3. Enter applicant details:
   • Name, date of birth, gender
   • Contact information
   • Applying for grade level
   • Program (if applicable)
   • Admission cycle

Step 2: Process through pipeline stages

The application moves through stages:

Stage	Actions	Outcome
Application	Submit documents, pay fee	Ready for review
Evaluation	Review records, conduct interview	Assessment complete
Decision	Make admission decision	Accepted, Rejected, Waitlisted
Offer	Generate and send offer letter	Offer extended
Acceptance	Guardian accepts offer	Commitment confirmed

Step 3: Convert to enrollment

Once accepted:

1. Go to Admissions → Enrollments
2. Find the accepted application
3. Click Convert to student
4. Assign to class division
5. Student record is created with full history

Benefits of admissions workflow

• Complete audit trail — Every decision documented
• Document management — Store certificates, transcripts
• Communication history — Track all correspondence
• Capacity management — Monitor seats per grade/class
• Reporting — Admissions funnel analytics

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After adding students

Verify the student record

1. Go to People → Students
2. Find the newly added student
3. Click to open detail view
4. Verify:
   • Name and personal details
   • Class assignment
   • Enrollment status shows "Active"

Link to guardians

Students should be linked to guardians for:

• Communication (fee statements, reports)
• Portal access
• Emergency contacts

To link a guardian:

1. Open student detail view
2. Go to Guardians tab
3. Click Link guardian
4. Search for existing or create new guardian
5. Set relationship and permissions

Generate student ID

If your school uses printed ID cards:

1. Open student detail view
2. Note the auto-generated Student ID
3. Use this for ID card printing

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Managing student enrollment

Enrollment statuses

Status	Description	When used
Active	Currently enrolled	Normal state
Inactive	Not currently attending	Temporary leave
Withdrawn	Left the school	Formal withdrawal
Graduated	Completed schooling	End of final grade
Transferred	Moved to another school	Transfer out
Suspended	Disciplinary action	Temporary removal
Expelled	Permanent removal	Disciplinary termination

Change enrollment status

1. Open student detail view
2. Click the status badge or Change status action
3. Select new status
4. Enter effective date and reason
5. Confirm the change

Transfer between classes

1. Open student detail view
2. Click Transfer class action
3. Select new class division
4. Enter effective date
5. Student moves to new class (old enrollment marked as transferred)

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Troubleshooting

Student doesn't appear in list

Possible causes:

• Filter is applied (check filter pills at top)
• Wrong school selected
• Enrollment status is not "Active"

Solutions:

• Clear all filters
• Verify school in top bar
• Check student status

Can't assign to class

Possible causes:

• Class division not created
• Class at capacity
• Grade level mismatch

Solutions:

• Create class division first (Academics → Class Divisions)
• Increase class capacity or create new division
• Ensure student grade matches class grade

Import fails completely

Possible causes:

• Wrong file format (not CSV)
• Missing required columns
• Encoding issues (special characters)

Solutions:

• Save as "CSV UTF-8" from Excel
• Compare column headers to template exactly
• Remove special characters and re-try

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Related topics

• Initial setup checklist — Complete setup guide
• Bulk import students CSV — Detailed import guide
• Admit a student — Full admissions workflow
• Academic structure — Grade levels and classes