Restructuring of school management committees central focus of three-day enrollment drive in Gujarat
Restructuring of school management commitees (SMCs) and School Management Development Committees (SMDCs) in Gujarat is the central focus of an annual enrollment drive — Shala Praveshotsav and Kanya Kelevani Mahotsav — scheduled for next month after the government issued directions in this regard to all District Education Officers (DEOs), Administrative Officers and heads of departments (HoDs).
After an assessment of the SMCs — a key provision under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act or the Right to Education Act aimed at ensuring community participation in the governance and monitoring of elementary education — revealed that a majority of such committees lies either only on paper or defunct, the Gujarat government is set to restructure these decision-making bodies at government primary schools. These panels also comprise parents and decide on spending of grants.
A virtual interaction between Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and members of the SMCs from Gujarat schools were held on April 28. The Shala Praveshotsav and Kanya Kelevani Mahotsav is scheduled for June 18-20 across government and grant-in-aid Balvatika, primary, secondary and higher secondary schools, Gyan Shakti Residential Schools and Rakshashakti Residential Schools across the state.
For the annual enrollment drive, the emphasis this year has been 'placed on reducing dropouts in secondary education which should be given special attention', stated the directive issued to all districts, adding that 'accordingly, the outline of the programme should be prepared, publicity should be done, advertisement hoardings should be put up and other ancillary actions should be taken'.
'As part of proper implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which lays emphasis on increasing the participation of the local community, it has been decided to organise the Shala Praveshotsav and Kanya Kelavani 2025 to activate and empower the SMCs and SMDCs. The entire programme should be planned systematically keeping the activity of SMCs as the central theme in the drive,' Education Minister Kuber Dindor told The Indian Express.
This year, as per the provisions of Right to Education Act, 2009, SMCs and SMDCs are to be reconstituted by convening parent meetings in schools from the new academic session, starting June — when two-year term of the SMCs will be come to an end.
NEP 2020 emphasises a holistic, inclusive and community-centred approach to education. The formation and functions of SMCs and SMDCs are directly linked to the key objectives of the policy, such as community participation, school development and quality improvement, inclusive education, transparency and accountability.
During the three-day enrollment drive, officials and politicians, including elected representatives right from the Chief Minister to corporators, IAS, IPS and government officials, will visit one primary school and two secondary and higher secondary schools each.
While Section 21 of RTE Act mandates all government, government-aided, and special-category schools (except unaided private schools) to constitute an SMC within six months of the Act's implementation and reconstituted every two years, it was observed that even the reconstitution fails to achieve the objectives of SMCs.
Depending on the students' strength, an SMC consists of elected representatives from the local authority, parents or guardians of students, and teachers — the key requirements being that at least 75 per cent members must be parents or guardians, 50 per cent women, and that there should be proportionate representation for parents of children from disadvantaged groups and weaker sections. Other members include one-third from the local authority, one-third from teachers, and one-third from local educationists or students (if no educationist is available). The SMC elects a Chairperson and a Vice-Chairperson among the parent members.
The SMCs also have to prepare and recommend School Development Plans, which outlines the schools' needs and development goals, as well as monitors the utilisation of government grants for the schools' improvement, apart from with maintaining and auditing accounts of school funds, ensuring transparency.
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