Management panels for government, aided schools

CHENNAI: Orders have been issued by the School Education Department for the implementation of School Management Committees in all government and government- aided schools in the state for the proper implementation of provisions of the Right to Education Act and the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan schemes.Rs 27 crore has been sanctioned for this purpose for 2011-12 from the budget of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan by the Government of India.The formation of a School Management Comnmittee, or SMC, is mandated by the RTE Act of 2009, with a tenure of two years. Threefourths of the committee’s membership should be parents/ guardians of the students, while 50 percent total membership is reserved for women. The rest of the members of the 20-member team should be two elected local authorities, one teacher, one educationist, while the senior most teacher of the school will be the ex-officio member-convenor of the committee. It will be headed by a Parents Teachers Association member.Apart from ensuring punctuality, regularity of teachers and students, the committee will- among other thingsmake sure the students do not have to pay any fee for elementary education, as the RTE Act entitles them to.The SMC also has to assess the annual financial requirements of the school in providing free education to students under the Right to Education Act.