PRIMARY EDUCATION IN INDIA: ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF SCHOOL MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE (UNDER RIGHT TO EDUCATION ACT)

Abstract

India have decayed, declined and deprived the primary education system. Equally the social and
economical inequalities of caste, class and gender have been identified as the major causes of education
deprivation among the children majorly in rural India. Enrolling all boys and girls in school by 2015 is
one of the most important millennium development goals of India. And India will do that probably earlier
than the UN target date through non-formal, formal and inclusive education. Thus to achieve this Right
to Education Act has been enacted across the nation.
The new rules under the this Act mandates 75% members of School Management Committee (SMC) should
be parents so that effective monitoring mechanism can be established at grassroots level itself. This is
a key decision which can lead towards the revolutionary changes in education landscape. The SMCs have
been given the power to monitor the working of schools and utilization of grants. For SMC to be an
effective institution to regulate and manage a village school, it must understand its importance, know
its responsibilities and must perform and deliver proficiently. It should ensure that every child in a village
enjoys his or her fundamental right of free and compulsory education.
The term ‘Education’ now has to be accepted with much greater responsibilities than before. Until now
the focus has been only on producing Quantity that is large number of doctors, engineer, etc. But with
the moving trends of surplus employment opportunities in any sector, it’ll definitely shift from Quantity
to the Quality part within the learning generations. Thus, the main focus will be on producing better
human beings rather than incompetent beings. And this can only be achieved by providing the education
sector with the right blend of opportunities, amending education as an exercise in quality with quantity
matched to what our economy can imbibe.