What is the full form of SMC

SMC: School Management Committee

The Right to Education Act of 2009 established the School Management Committee (SMC), which is crucial in establishing accountability in India's educational system, particularly in Government institutions. The SMC is envisioned under the Act as a decentralized governance mechanism that gives them the Authority to maintain tabs on how the schools operate and regulate along with how the school grants are utilized.

The administrator and instructors of the school, parents or guardians of children, and representatives of the local authorities make up the SMCs. Half of SMC members must be female, and three-fourths must be parents or guardians. The triennial (every three years) School Development Plans and yearly work plans for the schools in each district, and later for each state of India, are crucially developed by SMCs.

The RTE Act also emphasizes the vital role that parents play in SMCs to foster a sense of responsibility for their children's education and to promote and enhance the effectiveness of Indian schools. The SMCs' overall goal is to build schools holistically, which includes overseeing/monitoring finances, management, academic advancement of students, equal involvement, and bringing transparency to India's educational system. This includes more than just outstanding school facilities.

A Few Rules for School Management's Committee Membership

1. According to the 2010 "Right to Free and Compulsory Education Rules",: Every school under its control that is not independent must form a school management committee within six months of the appointed date and reconstitute it every two years.
2. Parents or legal guardians of children must make up 75% of the School Management Committee's membership.
3. No more than 50% of women should be part of the Committee.
4. Further, provided that parents or guardians of children who belong to disadvantaged groups and weaker sections will receive proportionate representation.
5. The following individuals will comprise the remaining 25 per cent of the School Management Committee's membership.
   • A third of the members will be chosen from among the elected local authority officials;
   • A third will come from among the school's instructors, a third will come from local educators and students enrolled in the school, and the Committee's parents will choose a third.
6. School Management Committee chooses a Chairperson and Vice Chairperson from among its parent members to lead its operations. The ex-official Member-Convener of the School Management Committee should be the Head Teacher of the School or, in the absence of a Head Teacher, the Senior Most Teacher of the School.
7. In cases where a panchayat has two or more schools, the president of the panchayat will serve on the School Management Committee of one of the schools, and ward members will serve on the School Management Committee for the remaining schools.
8. The School Management Committee must meet at least once every month, and all proceedings must be fully documented and made public

Functions of the School Management Committee

The School Management Committee is responsible for the following duties:

1. Keep an eye on how the school is run.
2. Creating, suggesting, implementing, and keeping track of the school development plan (SDP).
3. Monitoring the use of grants from the relevant local Authority, government, or another source.
4. The School Management Committee must carry out its responsibilities and perform the periodically mandated tasks.
5. Inform the community in the school's neighbourhood about the rights of children as stated in the Act, as well as the responsibilities of the relevant government, local Authority, school, parents, and guardians.
6. Explain children's rights under the right to education Act and the obligations of the relevant government, local Authority, school, parent, and guardian to the community in the school's neighbourhood.
7. Watch out for the school's instructors' timeliness and regularity of attendance.
8. Ensure that teachers meet with parents and guardians regularly to discuss the regularity of attendance, the child's aptitude for learning, the progress the kid has made in education, and any other pertinent information.
9. Ensure that instructors are not required to perform non-academic tasks outside those listed in section 27.
10. Ensure enrollment and ongoing attendance of all students from the school's community.
11. Ensure that no instructor participates in private tutoring or teaching activities.
12. Keep an eye on the upkeep of the norms and standards listed in the schedule.
13. Notify the local education authority of any deviation from the child's rights, particularly when there is verbal or physical abuse of the children, refusal to admit them, or a delay in providing them with their free entitlement.
14. When a child over six has not been admitted to any school or, even if accepted, was unable to complete their elementary education, it is necessary to identify the needs, prepare a plan, and monitor the implementation of the provisions. In this case, the child must be admitted to a class appropriate for their age.
15. Ensure that kids are not required to pay any fees, costs, or expenses that would prohibit them from continuing and finishing their basic education.
16. Keep an eye on the identification and enrollment of CWSN, mobilize resources for disabled children's education through the equal opportunities, protection, and full participation Act of 1995, and guarantee that they enrol in and complete elementary school.
17. Keep an eye on how the school implements the midday meal.
18. Create an annual report detailing the school's income and expenses.
19. Within one month of its compilation, the Annual Accounts should be made accessible to the Local Authority and signed by the Chairperson or Vice-Chairperson of the Said Committee.
20. Every School Management Committee established following subsection (1) of section 21 must annually create a School Development Plan following any applicable regulations.
21. At least three months before the conclusion of the fiscal year in which it is initially established under the Act, the School Management Committee must create a School Development Plan.
22. The three-year school development plan, which consists of three yearly sub-plans, must include the following information.
    • Estimates of class sizes for each year's enrollment, a) Number of additional instructors needed, determined by the standards listed in the schedule
    • (given as annexure 1)
    • The physical needs for extra equipment and infrastructure, by the schedule's standards.
    • Determine the necessary funding, taking into account the factors mentioned above and the necessity to provide the specific training facilities described in section entitlements of kids, such as free textbooks and uniforms, as well as any other additional requirements for carrying out the Act's obligations on the part of the school.
23. Before the conclusion of the fiscal year it is created, the convenor of the School Management Committee and the chair or vice chairperson of the Committee must sign the School Development Plan.
24. The Right to Free and Compulsory Education Rules 2010 requires the school management committee to identify students who need special training and arrange such training accordingly.

Conclusion

The RTE Act mandates that schools establish School Management Committees (SMCs) comprising at least 75% of parents of enrolled students, 50% female, to promote parental and broader community involvement in school oversight and decision-making. SMCs are given the Authority to design school development plans, monitor school performance, and execute other duties as assigned by the state governments.

The investigator discovered during the examination that most teachers and parents need to know how SMC operates in their schools. In their comments, the school administrators indicated that attendees did not actively engage in meetings and that decisions are frequently made indecisively.

SMC members need to be made aware of the RTE Act, how the SMC operates, their obligations as SMC members, and the school development plan. The members' engagement is related to their awareness of the SMC's creation and operation. The understanding encourages involvement and member empowerment, leading to efficient operation.

The study discovered that the members needed to be made aware of how the SMC operated, which might hinder their involvement in and understanding of the SMC process. Regarding participation in SMC, most members stated they could not do so because of financial obligations and home-based jobs.