Primary Education in Punjab: Awareness and Participation of School Management Committees

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan launched in 2001 has a strong decentralization remit, with aims to increase accountability of schools to communities. This was mandated and enhanced under the Right to Education Act,2009 through the formation of the School Management Committee (SMC). School management committees have a significant role to play in the local governance and functioning of schools. This paper is an attempt to explore the awareness of SMC members of primary schools regarding their roles and responsibilities in school management and their level of participation in the functioning of schools. Results showed that SMCs were constituted in all the schools but awareness of SMC members about roles and responsibilities and participation in school management was not adequate. Through SMCs, parents and community members can participate and take ownership of the schools. For effective participation and quality monitoring of problems of schools, sustained efforts need to be made for capacity building of SMC members.