NEW DELHI: Enhanced community participation in school education and a more inclusive and equitable system for the holistic development of children are the key aspects of the new School Management Committee (SMC) Guidelines 2026.
A comprehensive booklet on the revised guidelines, brought out by the Department of School Education and Literacy, was released by Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan at Vigyan Bhavan on Wednesday.
The key features of the guidelines include strengthening community ownership of learning outcomes from Balvatika to Grade 12 through a single SMC; a three-year school development plan with an annual social audit and annual sub-plan; inclusion of school infrastructure safety and disaster preparedness; support for inclusive education; enhanced transparency and financial oversight; and a stronger focus on equitable education.
The size of the SMC will depend on student enrolment. Schools with up to 100 students will have 12 to 15 members in the SMC, while those with more than 500 students will have 20 to 25 members, according to the guidelines.
The composition of SMC members has also been revised, making it mandatory to have a Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson, both elected from among the parents or guardians of students, and a Member Secretary, who will be the Principal or Headmaster of the school. Members must be drawn from parents across all grades, elected representatives of the local authority, teachers, and local educationists, subject experts, alumni, or ASHA workers.
Speaking after the launch, Pradhan said, “The SMC Guidelines 2026 will play a pivotal role in translating the vision of the National Education Policy 2020 into action across the country’s nearly 15 lakh schools. SMCs play a vital bridge between students, teachers, parents and communities to ensure the holistic development of children through stronger community participation and shared responsibility in education.”
Delhi Education Minister Anish Sood described the new guidelines as a crucial step towards transforming the country into a Viksit Bharat by 2047, noting that the path to this goal lies through classrooms. “Issues such as child safety, mental health, foundational literacy and numeracy, digital transparency, learning outcomes, and community participation have become critically important today. The new SMC guidelines have been designed keeping these priorities in mind.”