NEW DELHI: Days after significant stakeholders of city private schools highlighted that the School Management Committees (SMCs) were not fully functioning, with no official meetings held for a long time — particularly in view of the fee hike issue— the Delhi government has ordered the dissolution of all SMCs of government and government-aided schools in the city, with immediate effect.
The government has instead directed that a school-level SMC Election Committee, headed by the concerned head of the school, will conduct elections to reconstitute a new SMC for their respective schools, as per the RTE Act.
In our last Cityscape edition published this Monday on the fee hike issue, the President of the Delhi State Public Schools Management Committee, RC Jain, stated that the fee hike issue could be resolved with the help of the Delhi government.
However, the previous government did not form any Education Advisory Board in the past ten years, and the last meeting held with the former Education Minister Manish Sisodia was in 2015.
The order issued by the Directorate of Education on April 24 stated that the final result would be declared by the school-level SMC Election Committee on May 10, ensuring that the requirement of at least 50% representation of women and at least one representation from the SC/ST/OBC/Weaker section candidates — one out of 16 members — shall be selected as per merit.
It also mentioned that any person wishing to apply for the role of social worker in a School Management Committee must have a strong aptitude and a natural inclination towards serving the cause of education. Preference should be given to those with a verifiable track record in their field.
The order further stated that the first meeting of the newly constituted SMC may be held on the next working day after the result is declared. The elected members of the SMC shall elect a Vice-Chairperson among themselves.
During the last month, a sharp hike in fees in several Delhi schools had left parents frustrated and under financial stress, with many taking to the streets in protest against the move. Many parents shared that the mismanagement of the School Management Committees, where the fee hike issue should have been discussed, was the main reason for the chaos. Following this, the government took stringent measures to curb the arbitrary fee hikes by seeking audit reports from schools and inspecting certain schools, among other steps.