Education Ministry Grants SMCs Financial Power Over Schools
NEW DELHI – In a significant move to decentralize school governance, Union Minister for Education Dharmendra Pradhan on Wednesday launched comprehensive new guidelines mandating the formation of School Management Committees (SMCs) across India. Aligning with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, the framework grants these grassroots bodies unprecedented financial and operational authority to oversee the nation’s educational institutions.
The new guidelines supersede all previous instructions under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan and the Right to Education (RTE) Act, establishing a unified leadership model.
A Unified Governance Structure
The guidelines mandate that every school in the country—including secondary institutions up to Class 12—must constitute an SMC within one month of the academic year’s start.
- Replacing the Old: The SMC will officially replace the School Management Development Committees (SMDC) to streamline leadership.
- Inclusive Composition:
- 75% Parents/Guardians: Ensuring the primary stakeholders have the loudest voice.
- 50% Women: Mandated gender parity in decision-making.
- 25% Mixed Representation: Includes local elected officials, teachers, alumni, and community experts like ASHA and Anganwadi workers.
- Social Equity: Proportionate representation is required for SC, ST, OBC, and Children with Special Needs (CwSN).
Decentralized Financial Powers
Moving beyond an advisory role, the SMCs have been handed significant “purse-string” authority to ensure transparency and efficiency in school maintenance.
| Capability | Financial/Operational Limit |
| Direct Execution | Can execute civil works costing up to ₹30 lakh. |
| Public Tendering | Must oversee/participate in tenders for projects exceeding ₹30 lakh. |
| Budgetary Oversight | Authorized to review budgets and prevent financial irregularities. |
| Record Keeping | Responsible for maintaining accurate receipts and expenditure logs. |
Social and Academic Mandate
The Ministry has also tasked these committees with critical social objectives to improve student outcomes and community engagement:
- Mainstreaming Students: Leading drives to bring out-of-school children back into the education system.
- Resource Management: Ensuring the timely and fair distribution of uniforms, textbooks, and scholarships.
- Accountability: Acting as a bridge between the school administration and the local community to ensure that “education is a shared responsibility.”
“By empowering parents and local experts with actual financial authority, we are ensuring that every rupee spent on our schools is accounted for and serves the students directly,” Minister Pradhan stated during the launch.
The move is expected to significantly reduce bureaucratic delays in school repairs and infrastructure upgrades while fostering a deeper sense of community ownership over local government schools.