NEW DELHI: Following representations received from private schools voicing their opposition to the revised School Management Committee (SMC) guidelines 2026 released recently, the Ministry of Education on Thursday said they would be exempted from implementing them provided they do not receive any aid or grants from their respective State governments or local authority.
An official release from the Education Ministry said that it had sent a communication on Wednesday (May 20) to all States and Union Territories, clarifying that the schools mentioned in Section 2(n)(iv) of the Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009 would not be covered by these Guidelines provided they have not received any kind of aid or grants from the appropriate Government or local authority to meet their expenses.” This sector refers to unaided schools.
The guidelines, released on May 6, aimed at participatory school governance by strengthening community participation in school education. The strengthening of community ownership in learning outcomes from Balvatika to Grade 12 through a single SMC, three-year school development plan with annual social audit and annual sub plan, inclusion of school infrastructure safety and disaster preparedness, enhanced transparency and financial oversight are among the key objectives.
The release said, “The Ministry of Education has received representations and concerns from certain sections of society regarding the applicability of the Guidelines over differently managed schools in context of Section 21 of the RTE Act, 2009.” In light of the concerns raised and after due consideration, the Ministry has sent the communication to all, it added.
The Ministry emphasised that it was in favour of such schools constituting such committees in order to promote greater transparency, accountability and participatory governance.
“Education is a shared responsibility of the Government, schools, parents and the community, and strengthening collaboration among all stakeholders remains essential for improving school functioning and ensuring better learning outcomes for children,” it added.
During an event held to mark the launch of the guidelines, top educationists had expressed an apprehension that the objective of ensuring transparency would be meaningless if private schools are kept out of it.