3 min readNew DelhiMay 7, 2026 01:20 AM IST
THE UNION Education Ministry released guidelines for school management committees on Wednesday, recommending that the chairperson and vice-chairperson of each such panel be an elected member from among the parents or guardians.
The guidelines suggest that the principal or head of the school be the member secretary of the committee, which will have two sub-committees – an academic committee and a school building committee.
Releasing the guidelines, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said that the concept of school management committees is not new, and they have existed in different forms before this, but there is a need to make the committees part of the school education culture.
The new guidelines, aligned with the National Education Policy 2020, supersede earlier recommendations on school management committees, and are meant to strengthen community involvement in schools and learning from the pre-primary classes all the way up to class 12. The guidelines will serve as a reference framework for states to issue their own instructions.
The Right to Education Act, 2009, states that schools shall constitute a school management committee consisting of elected representatives of the local authority, parents or guardians of children, and teachers, with at least three-fourths of the members of the committee being parents/guardians, and half of the members be women. As per the Act, the committees are to prepare the school development plan, and monitor utilisation of grants and the working of the school.
The guidelines issued on Wednesday recommend that the number of members of the committee can be decided based on the school’s enrollment –12 to 15 members for up to 100 students, 15-20 members for 100-500 students, and 20-25 members for over 500 students.
In addition to the chairperson and vice chairperson, who will both be parents or guardians who are elected, the committees will include parents/guardians from all grades of students, elected members from the local authority, teachers, local educationists/academicians/alumni/ASHA workers/Anganwadi workers, and the school principal.
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The committees will oversee implementation of schemes like Samagra Shiksha, PM-POSHAN, and NIPUN Bharat, and mobilise resources. The committees can also execute civil work of up to Rs. 30 lakh.
For the elected members, the head of the school will initiate the election process at the start of the academic year. The term of the committees’ members will be two years.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
