COIMBATORE: Following complaints about the functioning of School Management Committees (SMC), Samagra Shiksha deployed Bock Resource Teacher Educators (BRTEs) at the block level to conduct the SMC meetings efficiently in schools. A two-day residential training for the same was held in Coimbatore.
A BRTE who attended training in Coimbatore told TNIE, “In some schools, headmasters and teachers do not like conducting SMC meetings as they have to share the powers in administration and academic fronts like auditing the grants and monitoring students’ educational activities with the parents who are SMC members. Similarly, in some other schools, some parents will not coordinate with the school authorities and this lack of coordination affects the working of SMCs. So, Samagra Shiksha has taken steps to monitor the SMC meetings and activities at schools. If SMCs are inactive, we would take steps to conduct the SMC efficiently by giving instructions and training.”
A headmaster from a government higher secondary school told TNIE, “In rural areas, most parents do not show interest in SMC activities as many of them are daily wage labourers and might lose a day of work if they want to attend the SMC meeting. Also, the school education department does not take steps to fulfil the resolutions taken in SMC meetings regarding the developmental works of the school. This also affects the working of SMC and sometimes we feel like SMC is inefficient.”
According to official sources, only a few headmasters and SMC heads fulfilled the needs of their schools through concerned departments and private firms under the Namakku Naame scheme.
A functionary of the Palli Kalvi Pathukappu Iyakkam, C Chandrasekar, who agreed on the lack of coordination between SMC heads and school headmasters told TNIE that despite passing resolutions in SMC meetings, many headmasters do not approach the concerned departments for the needs of their school
“For example, if a school want classrooms, they can approach the MLAs, and MPs and if students want bus transport, they can approach the transport department. However, many SMC heads do not forward the resolutions to the school education department,” he said. When contacted, an officer from the district school education department told TNIE that they would look into the issue.